News From the CWIS/Gopher Hole

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        By Mark Thacker, CWIS Coordinator (thacker@unt.edu) This column covers features and resources available through the University's Gopher Campus Wide Information System (CWIS). Gopher is available on various UNT host computers including the VAX, Sol, and Jove. It is also available in the General Access Labs and on various Novell file servers around campus.

        Gopher Clients

        When people mention Gopher they normally think of the particular Gopher client they are used to. For most people, this is either PC Gopher or UNIX/VAX Gopher. There are, however, several more Gopher clients that are in use here at UNT. For the most part, the Gopher clients are very simular, but there are some differences that you need to be aware of and this article is designed to help you decide which Gopher client to use.
        Each client is highlighted belowand includes a brief table describing the hardware and software needed to run the system.

        PC Gopher III

        Hardware

        • XT or greater

        • mono or color video

        • Ethernet card

        • 640K RAM

        Software

        • Packet drivers or ODI with ODIPKT

        Special Features

        • Runs on low-end machines with monochrome monitors
        • Same interface as Trumpet News reader for DOS - Windows-like
        • Supports mouse operations
        • Can call Telnet/TN3270 with automated connect scripts
        • Supports Gopher+ alternate views
        • Multiple simultaneous download/transaction capability
        • hone book program with point-and-click field selection

        Problems or Bugs

        • Can not auto-launch viewers for images,, sounds,, etc.
        • Does not use EMS or XMS memory - runs out of conventional memory very soon causing crashing and errors
        • Has limited Gopher+ electronic form length
        • Default values for electronic form is different from all other clients
        • Doesn't run under Windows well at all
        • Unsupported from the University of Minnesota now
        • Slow network response and tricky setup
        • No real on-line help despite the label for suc
        • No direct connection to other Gopher server option - must navigate menus to get to anything.
        • Can not print file while within PC Gopher must do so with other program

        When first considering this article, I thought about calling it The Death of PC Gopher III . However, better judgement prevailed. The problems with PC Gopher and the move of our campus off DOS-only and into Windows and OS/2 for Intel based machines makes me believe that it is time to wean people from using PC Gopher. If you can use HGopher, the Gopher client for Windows, please, please, PLEASE do. Or switch over to using TurboGopher for the Macintosh!

        HGopher for Windows

        Hardware

        • 80386SX or greater (requirements of the Trumpet TCP/IP stack)
        • Ethernet card
        • Windows requirements for RAM and monitor (color)

        Software

        • Trumpet TCP/IP stack
        • Packet drivers or ODI with ODIPKT

        Special Features

        • Gopher+ complete support of Alternate Views,, electronic forms etc.
        • Excellent display of electronic forms of any length
        • Support for hundreds of definitions of viewers for files
        • Winsock compliant for compatibility with other Windows Internet tools
        • On-screen icons for all actions
        • Multiple bookmark files
        • Direct connect to remote sites using the Bookmarks capability
        • Autolaunches viewers after file download
        • Multiple simultaneous download/transaction capability
        • Quick response and query speed
        • Ability to set preferences as to which view to retrieve when multiple views of an item are available
        • Automatic filename creation and download to a directory capability
        • Deletes temporary files at program close
        • Extensive on-line help with examples and icons
        • Change display font of menus

        Problems or Bugs

        • Creation of bookmarks to open other Gopher connections is a bit confusing
        • All transactions and new menus displayed in one window only
        • Phone book lookup requires user to type query

        HGopher is probably one of the best Gopher clients there is. If at all possible for you to use either this or TurboGopher for the Macintosh, please do. The Trumpet TCP/IP stack is a site license product for UNT and allows all sorts of Internet tools to work in Windows simultaneously.

        TurboGopher for the Macintosh

        Hardware

        • Macintosh Plus or greater
        • Ethernet card , SCSI adapter or built-in Ethernet

        Software

        • MacTCP

        Special Features

        • Gopher+ complete support of Alternate Views,, electronic forms etc.
        • Excellent display of electronic forms of any length
        • MacTCP compliant for compatibility with other Macintosh Internet tools
        • Multiple bookmark files
        • Direct connect to remote sites
        • Launches viewers after file download with single click
        • Multiple simultaneous download/transaction capability
        • Quick response and query speed
        • Balloon Help
        • Japanese language character display with special system software
        • Multiple window or single window display of menus
        • Excellent phone book lookup procedure with point-and-click fields and logical separators ( contains, begins with and equals )
        • Can print or save items

        Problems or Bugs

        • limited set of viewer definitions
        • Alternate views must be chosen via a menu item, not an icon

        TurboGopher is probably the second best Gopher client around, but is still the fastest and most relieable Gopher client for the Macintosh. A PowerMacintosh version of it should be out soon.

        UNIX/VAX Gopher

        Hardware

        • Modem if communicating over UNT dial-up lines
        • Ethernet card if communicating on-campus

        Software

        • Any terminal program that emulates a VT-100 terminal
        • Telnet if communicating on-campus
        • Packet Drivers or ODI with ODIPKT if using Telnet

        Special Features

        • Unlimited viewer definition
        • Runs on any machine capable of using Telnet or a modem
        • Alternate views and electronic forms support
        • Autolaunches viewers when file is downloaded
        • Direct connect to remote Gopher sites
        • Good phone book query support with simple fill-in-the-field approach
        • Gripe capability to send mail back to an item's maintaine
        • Can download. mail., print or save files
        • Can be accessed from anywhere on the Internet or from your house
        • On-line help
        • On-screen context sensitive display of options

        Problems or Bugs

        • One bookmark file supported only
        • All transactions within one window (limited ot VT-100 screen)
        • No multiple-transactions occurring simultaneously

        The Gopher client for UNIX and VAX is actually a pretty good client. It is the only one really available if you want access to Gopher from your home. There is an anonymous Gopher login that you can use if you do not have an account on any host machine, yet still want to access it remotely.

        CMS Gopher

        Hardware

        • Modem if communicating over UNT dial-up lines
        • Ethernet card if communicating on-campus

        Software

        • Any program that emulates a VT-100
        • Telnet or TN3270 if communicating on-campus
        • Packet Drivers or ODI with ODIPKT if using Telnet or TN3270

        Special Features

        • Accessible from any machine capable of using Telnet/TN3270 or a modem
        • Direct connect to remote Gopher sites
        • Good phone book query support with simple fill-in-the-field approach
        • Can print or save files
        • Can be accessed from anywhere on the Internet or from your house

        Problems or Bugs

        • One bookmark file supported only
        • All transactions within one window (limited to VT-100/3270 screen)
        • No multiple-transactions occurring simultaneously
        • Not Gopher+ capable - no electronic forms or alternate views

        The CMS Gopher client is not all that much different from the UNIX/VAX Gopher client and should only really be used if you have access to CMS only. Remember to type TCPIP before typing GOPHER when running it. It is not, to my knowledge, Gopher+ compatible, which limits its usefulness somewhat because there is no support for electronic forms and the like.

        I hope that this has helped to clear up any questions you had about which Gopher client to use. If you want to learn more about Gopher or about using the clients menioned above, drop by ISB 119 and talk to me, register for a short course on using Gopher, or send me E-mail.



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