As per Relevance of the word available, we have this rfc below:
Network Working Group EARN
Request for Comments: 1580 EARN
FYI: 23 March 1994
Category:
Guide to Network Resource
Status of this
This memo provides information for the Internet community. This
does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution
this memo is unlimited
Table of
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. GOPHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1. What is Gopher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2. Who can use Gopher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3. How to get to Gopher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3.1. Local clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3.2. Remote clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4. Using Gopher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.5. VERONICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.6. Learning more about Gopher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3. WORLD-WIDE WEB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.1. What is World-Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2. Who can use World-Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.3. How to get to World-Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3.1. Local clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3.2. Remote clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3.2.1. E-mail access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.4. Using World-Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.6. Learning more about World-Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4. WAIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.1. What is WAIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.2. Who can use WAIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.3. How to get to WAIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.4. Using WAIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.4.1. E-mail access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.6 Learning more about WAIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5. ARCHIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.1. What is ARCHIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.2. Who can use ARCHIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3. How to get to ARCHIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
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5.4. Using ARCHIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.4.1. Using a local client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.4.1.1. Archie client command and parameters . . . . . . . . . 29
5.4.2. Using Telnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5.4.3. Using electronic mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
5.6. Learning more about ARCHIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
6. WHOIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.1. What is WHOIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6.2. Who can use WHOIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.3. How to get to WHOIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.4. Using WHOIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.4.1. Using a local client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
6.4.2. Using Telnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.4.3. Using electronic mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.6. Learning more about WHOIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7. X.500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7.1. What is X.500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7.2. Who can use X.500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7.3. How to get to X.500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7.4. Using X.500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.4.1. Using a local client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.4.2. Using Telnet or X.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
7.4.3. Using electronic mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
7.6. Learning more about X.500 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8. NETFIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.1. What is NETFIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.2. Who can use NETFIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8.3. How to get to NETFIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8.4. Using NETFIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
8.4.1. Local access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
8.4.2. Remote access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
8.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
8.6. Learning more about NETFIND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
9. TRICKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
9.1. What is TRICKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
9.2. Who can use TRICKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
9.3 How to get to TRICKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
9.4. Using TRICKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
9.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
9.6. Learning more about TRICKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
10. BITFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
10.1. What is BITFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
10.2. Who can use BITFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
10.3. How to get to BITFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
10.4. Using BITFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
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10.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
10.6. Learning more about BITFTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
11. LISTSERV (Version 1.7f). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
11.1. What is LISTSERV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
11.2. Who can use LISTSERV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
11.3. How to get to LISTSERV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
11.4. Using LISTSERV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
11.4.1. Commands for LISTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
11.4.2. Commands for FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
11.4.3. LISTSERV DATABASE Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
11.4.4. Commands for INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
11.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
11.6. Learning more about LISTSERV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
12. NETNEWS (USENET) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
12.1. What is NETNEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
12.2. Who can use NETNEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
12.3. How to get to NETNEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
12.4. Using NETNEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
12.5. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
12.6. Learning more about NETNEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
13. OTHER TOOLS OF INTEREST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
13.1. ASTRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
13.1.1. What is ASTRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
13.1.2. How to get to ASTRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
13.1.3. Learning more about ASTRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
13.2. NETSERV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
13.2.1. What is NETSERV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
13.2.2. How to get to NETSERV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
13.2.3. Learning more about NETSERV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
13.3. MAILBASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
13.3.1. What is MAILBASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
13.3.2. How to get to MAILBASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
13.3.3. Learning more about MAILBASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
13.4. PROSPERO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
13.4.1. What is PROSPERO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
13.4.2. How to get to PROSPERO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
13.4.3. Learning more about PROSPERO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
13.5. IRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
13.5.1. What is IRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
13.5.2. How to get to IRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
13.5.3. Learning more about IRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
13.6. RELAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
13.6.1. What is RELAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
13.6.2. How to get to RELAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
13.6.3. Learning more about RELAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
14. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
15. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
16. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
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17. Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
18. Appendix A - Freely available networking software . . . . . 103
18.1. Gopher clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
18.2. World-Wide Web clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
18.3. WAIS clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
18.4. Netnews - news reader software . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
1.
As the worldwide academic computer network grows and expands
beyond its previous confines, so the resources and services
on the network evolve and multiply at a dizzying rate. The
user is hardpressed to keep up with this explosive growth
Fortunately, a number of tools are available to facilitate the
of locating and retrieving network resources, so that users
can utilize texts, data, software and information for public access
Facilities to explore public domain software repositories, to
mailing list archives and databases, to retrieve
information and to participate in global group discussions are
available to all
The key to exploiting these resources is a server, special
on a computer somewhere in the network which accepts requests (
queries or commands) and sends a response automatically.
requestor does not have to be working on the same computer (or
in the same part of the world) in order to use the server.
servers accept requests via electronic mail, so that often
requestor needs not even be on the same computer network as
server. In many cases, servers are interconnected so that once
have established contact with one server, you can easily
with other servers as well
Today, many users have powerful computers on the desktop,
advanced graphical, audio and storage capabilities, which
connected to the network. This fact has given rise to what is
as the client-server model. Users can have special software on
local computer called a client which can utilize the capabilities
that computer and can also communicate with a server on the network
These clients provide an easy-to-use, intuitive user interface,
use of pointing devices such as a mouse, and exploit other
features. The client sends the user's requests to a server using
standardized format (called a protocol) and the server sends
response in a condensed format which the client displays to the
in a more readable way
Several of the tools described herein have several
functions. However they could be classified in functional
according to their main purpose. Sections two and three cover
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services, Gopher and World-Wide Web, which use the client-
model to explore the network providing a means of moving through
wide range of network sources and resources in a uniform
intuitive way. A tool for searching in a wide range of
databases located throughout the network, WAIS, is documented
section four. The problem of knowing where to find network
(files and programs) is addressed in section five, which deals
archie. Three tools for finding people, computers and their
addresses, WHOIS, X.500 and Netfind, are discussed in sections six
seven and eight. While just about all of these network tools can
used to get files of one sort or another, there are a few
available for getting files easily and efficiently from
repositories in the network. Two of these servers, TRICKLE
BITFTP, are covered in sections nine and ten. Sections eleven
twelve deal with what is perhaps the most popular of all the
resources, discussion groups on every imaginable topic. The two
discussed there are LISTSERV and Netnews (Usenet). Section
gives brief descriptions and pointers for a number of tools
were not mainstream enough to get a full description. Some are
in the developmental stage (Prospero), some are relatively
outside a particular network (ASTRA and Netserv from EARN/Bitnet
Mailbase from JANET) and some are meant for chatting rather than
(Relay and IRC).
The purpose of this guide is to supply the basic information
anyone on the network needs to try out and begin using these tools.
basic knowledge of networking terminology has been assumed, as
as familiarity with the basic tools of networking: electronic
(often referred to as e-mail or simply mail throughout this guide
and, for those connected to the Internet, FTP (file
protocol) and Telnet (remote login). It is beyond the scope of
guide to describe these basic tools. The example in the
section of this guide shows how one can use BITFTP to get guides
these tools over the network
2.
2.1. What is
The Internet Gopher, or simply Gopher, is a distributed
delivery service. It allows users to explore, search and
information residing on different locations in a seamless fashion
When browsing it, the information appears to the user as a series
nested menus. This kind of menu structure resembles the
of a directory with many subdirectories and files. The
and the files may be located either on the local server site or
remote sites served by other Gopher servers. From the user point
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view, all information items presented on the menus appear to
from the same place
The information can be a text or binary file, directory
(loosely called phone book), image or sound. In addition,
offers gateways to other information systems (World-Wide Web, WAIS
archie, WHOIS) and network services (Telnet, FTP). Gopher is often
more convenient way to navigate in a FTP directory and to
files
A Gopher server holds the information and handles the users' queries
In addition, links to other Gopher servers create a network
cooperation to form the global Gopher web (Gopherspace).
2.2. Who can use
Gopher uses the client-server model to provide access to the
web. You must be on the international TCP/IP network (the Internet
in order to use a client on your computer to access Gopher
2.3. How to get to
Users explore the Gopher menus using various local clients
accessing a remote client via an interactive Telnet session
2.3.1. Local
Public domain clients for accessing a Gopher server are
for: Macintosh, MS-DOS, OS/2, VM/CMS, VMS, NeXT, Unix, X-Windows
The clients are available for anonymous FTP from many FTP
(e.g., boombox.micro.umn.edu in the directory /pub/gopher).
the list of freely available client software in Appendix A
2.3.2. Remote
Some sites allow public access to a client. To access such
remote client, telnet to one of these sites
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| info.anu.edu.au Australia (login: info) |
| tolten.puc.cl Columbia |
| ecnet.ec Ecuador |
| gopher.chalmers.se Sweden |
| consultant.micro.umn.edu USA |
| gopher.uiuc.edu USA |
| panda.uiowa.edu USA (login: panda) |
| sunsite.unc.edu USA |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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At the login: prompt type gopher (unless specified otherwise)
the top-level Gopher menu for that site will be displayed
Users are requested to use the site closest to them
2.4. Using
The implementations of the Gopher clients on various platforms
slightly different to take advantage of the platforms
capabilities (mouse, graphic functions, X-Windows server) and
offer the popular look and feel. Even with
implementations, the same set of functions and commands
available
When issuing the gopher command, you will be
automatically to the default Gopher server specified at
installation. The format of the command is
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| gopher <hostname> |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
where hostname is an optional alternative Gopher server you
to talk to
When connected to a Gopher server, it is still possible to
another server by exploring the Other Gopher servers in the
of the world branch. To locate them more easily, the
servers are distributed in geographical regions
*
*
* Middle
* North
*
* South
and then by countries
Access to a Gopher server is identical whether using a local or
remote client: a simple menu-driven interface which doesn'
require any special training or knowledge from the user
Here is a sample menu
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
Internet Gopher Information Client v1.1
Information About
1. About Gopher
2. Search Gopher News
3. Gopher News Archive
4. comp.infosystems.gopher (Usenet newsgroup)/
5. Gopher Software Distribution
6. Gopher Protocol Information
7. University of Minnesota Gopher software licensing policy
8. Frequently Asked Questions about Gopher
9. gopher93/
10. Gopher| example server
11. How to get your information into Gopher
--> 12. New Stuff in Gopher
13. Reporting Problems or Feedback
14. big Ann Arbor gopher conference picture.gif
Press ? for Help, q to Quit, u to go up a menu Page: 1/1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the example above, any item can be selected by typing its
number or by moving the cursor (-->) next to it
An item could be
* a
* a text
* a binary
* a sound
* an image
* a phone book (directory information
* an index-
* a Telnet
Items are displayed with an identifying symbol next to them.
the example above, "" means a full text index-search, "/"
a subdirectory, "" means an image file and no
means a text file
Some Gopher clients are not able to handle certain file
(e.g., sound files). Some clients display only files of types
can handle or files they suppose you are interested in.
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display all types of files
Most Gopher clients allow you to create, view and
bookmarks. A bookmark keeps track of the exact location of
Gopher item, regardless of where it resides. It is useful when
often need to reach a file or a service located far from
top-level directory. A collection of bookmarks is like
customized Gopher menu
Some capabilities of a local Gopher client are bound to
capabilities of your own computer. In fact, for sound files,
files and Telnet sessions, the Gopher client looks for
appropriate software on your computer and passes control to it
perform the requested task. When the task is completed, control
returned to the Gopher client
At any time, it is possible to terminate the session (
command), to cancel the current processing or to get the on-
help (help command).
An item is processed according to its type
a
its contents are displayed. To go up one level, use the
command
a text
the file is displayed. Then you can browse it, search for
particular string, print it on a local printer or copy (save
it onto your local disk space in a user-specified file (
last 2 functions may not be available to you).
a binary
the remote file is simply copied onto your local disk space
a user-specified file. Binary files are binhexed
files, archives (.zip, .tar,...), compressed files, programs
etc
a sound
the remote file is played through your local audio device if
exists, as well as the appropriate utility. Only one sound
can be active at a time; you will be warned if you try to
a sound before a previous one is done
an image
the remote file is displayed on your computer screen if
image viewer exists on your computer
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a phone
you are prompted for a search string to look up
information through the selected phone book. Since
institutions have different directory services, the queries
not performed in the same fashion
an index-
you are prompted for a search string which may be one or
words, plus the special operators and, or, and not. The
is case-insensitive. Usually, an index is created to help
locate the information in a set of documents quickly. E.g.:
terminal and setting or
will find all documents which contain both the words
and setting, or the word tset. or is nonexclusive so
documents may contain all of the words
The result of the index-search looks like any Gopher menu,
each menu item is a file that contains the specified
string
a Telnet
Telnet sessions are normally text-based information services
for example, access to library catalogs
2.5.
Veronica was designed as a solution to the problem of
discovery in the rapidly-expanding Gopher web, providing a
search of more than 500 Gopher menus. Veronica helps you
Gopher-based information without doing a menu-by-menu, site-by-
search. It is to the Gopher information space, what archie is to
FTP archives
Veronica is accessible from most top-level Gopher menus or from
Other Gopher servers... branch. There is no need for opening
connection or another application
When you choose a veronica search , you will be prompted to enter
keyword or keywords. The simplest way to search with veronica is
enter a single word and hit the RETURN key. It does not
whether the word is upper-case or lower-case. The veronica
will return a gopher menu composed of items whose titles match
keyword specification. Items can be accessed as with any Gopher menu
E.g.:
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will give you a list of menu titles that contain eudora, such as
Electronic Mail: Eudora on Macintosh, Micro-08
Modem Setting Eudora Slip
A UNIX-based Eudora reader for those that ...
Eudora: Popmail for the Macintosh
Eudora
etc
The search string may contain keywords optionally separated by and
or and not. If there is no operator between 2 keywords, and
assumed. E.g.:
eudora and
will give you a list of menu titles that contain both eudora
macintosh, such as
Eudora: Popmail for the Macintosh
v4.1 EUDORA: E-MAIL FOR THE MACINTOSH
Micro News: Eudora - A Mailer for the Macintosh
Eudora: Electronic Mail on Your Macintosh
ACS News - Eudora Mail Reader for Macintosh
etc
"*" is the wildcard character. It can replace any other character
characters at the end of a keyword. E.g.:
desk
will give you a list of menu titles, such as
The Help Desk
Keene State College Press Release COMPUTER ON EVERY DESK
DESKQview/X... An alternative to Windows???.
Ethernet at Your Desktop
etc
2.6. Learning more about
The Internet Gopher is developed by the Computer and
Services Department of the University of Minnesota. Bug reports
comments, suggestions, etc. should be mailed to the
development team at: gopher@boombox.micro.umn.edu
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Mailing list: gopher-news@boombox.micro.umn.
To subscribe send a mail to
gopher-news-request@boombox.micro.umn.
Usenet newsgroup: comp.infosystems.
A comprehensive description of veronica search methods is
from the veronica menus
Veronica is being developed by Steve Foster and Fred Barrie at
University of Nevada. Bug reports, comments, suggestions, etc.
be addressed to: gophadm@futique.scs.unr.
3. WORLD-WIDE
3.1. What is World-Wide
World-Wide Web (also called WWW or W3) is an information system
on hypertext, which offers a means of moving from document
document (usually called to navigate) within a network
information
Hypertext documents are linked to each other through a selected
of words. For example, when a new word, or a new concept,
introduced in a text, hypertext makes it possible to point to
document which gives more details about it. The reader can open
second document by selecting the unknown word or concept and
relevant section is displayed. The second document may also
links to further details. The reader need not know where
referenced document is, and there is no need to type a command
display it, or to browse it to find the right paragraph
Cross-references may be defined in the same document. A collection
documents is a database
If you were reading this document on a hypertext system, instead
this all too short explanation about hypertext, you would have
selectable pointer to a complete hypertext information web
examples and more pointers to other definitions
For instance, in the first document you might read
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The WorldWideWeb (W3) is a wide-area "hypermedia"
retrieval initiative aiming to give universal access to a
universe of documents
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
Selecting hypermedia will display the following explanation for you
-----------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT IS
Hypertext is text which is not constrained to be linear
Hypertext is text which contains "links" to other texts. The
was coined by "Ted Nelson" around 1965 (see "History").
HyperMedia is a term used for hypertext which is not
to be text: it can include graphics, video and "sound",
example. Apparently Ted Nelson was the first to use this term too
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Then you can learn more about links and Nelson. Indeed, the links
WWW are not confined to text only, so the term hypermedia is
accurate. For example, the link to Nelson might point to a
containing a picture of Ted Nelson. The picture would be displayed
your screen if you have a suitable configuration
Also, special documents (indexes) in the WWW information space can
search for given keyword(s). The result is a document which
links to the documents found
World-Wide Web uses hypertext over the network: the linked
may be located at various sites. WWW can handle different
formats and various information organizations. WWW also
access to many of the other tools described in this guide
3.2. Who can use World-Wide
WWW uses the client-server model to provide access to the
universe. You must be on the international TCP/IP network (
Internet) in order to use a client on your computer to access WWW.
you are on the Internet, but don't have a WWW client on
computer, you can still enter the World-Wide Web. Several sites
public interactive access to WWW clients (see the Remote
section under How to get to World-Wide Web below).
If you have e-mail access only, or if you are not on the
then you can not fully exploit the vast potential of WWW. However,
mail-robot is available at the address: listserv@info.cern.ch
gives e-mail access to WWW-accessible listserv@info.cern.ch files
(see E-mail access section under How to get to World-Wide Web below).
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3.3. How to get to World-Wide
Users access the World-Wide Web facilities via a client called
browser. This interface provides transparent access to the
servers. If a local WWW client is not available on your computer
you may use a client at a remote site. Thus, an easy way to
with WWW is to access a remote client
3.3.1. Local
Usage of a local client is encouraged since it provides
performance and better response time than a remote client
Public domain clients for accessing WWW servers are available for
Macintosh, MS-DOS, VMS, VM/CMS, MVS, NeXT, Unix, X-Windows.
clients are available for anonymous FTP from info.cern.ch in
directory /pub/www. All these platforms support a simple line
browser. In addition, graphical clients are available for
Macintosh, Windows, X-Windows, NeXT and Unix. See the list
freely available client software in Appendix A
3.3.2. Remote
To access a remote WWW client, telnet to the client site. If
are new to WWW, you should telnet to info.cern.ch. No login
needed. You will immediately enter the WWW line mode browser.
publicly accessible clients feature locally developed clients
Most remote clients are at sites with WWW servers with
on specific areas. After you telnet to the client site, at
login: prompt enter www, no password is needed. The
remote client sites are available
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Site Country Server Specialization
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| vms.huji.ac.il Israel Environment |
| info.cern.ch Switzerland (CERN) High-energy physics
| fatty.law.cornell.edu USA Law |
| ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu USA History |
| www.njit.edu USA |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
CERN is the entry point to find information about WWW itself
to have an overview of the Web with a catalogue of the
sorted by subject
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3.3.2.1. E-mail
In order to get a file, send mail to listserv@info.cern.ch
a SEND command. The SEND command returns the document with
given WWW address, subject to certain restrictions.
documents are formatted to 72 character width, with
numbered. A separate list at the end of the file gives
document-addresses of the related documents
If the document is hypertext, its links will be marked
numbers in brackets, and a list of document addresses by
will be appended to the message. In this way, you can
through the web, more or less. A good file to start with
be
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/DataSources/bySubject/Overview.
Note that, despite the name listserv in the address of
mail robot, it is not a LISTSERV server
A note of caution from the WWW developers and maintainers
"As the robot gives potential mail access to a *vast* amount
information, we must emphasise that the service should not
abused. Examples of appropriate use would be
* Accessing any information about W3 itself
* Accessing any CERN and/or physics-related or
development related information
Examples of INappropriate use would be
* Attempting to retrieve binaries or tar files or anything
than directory listings or short ASCII files from FTP
sites
* Reading Usenet newsgroups which your site doesn't receive
* Repeated automatic use
There is currently a 1000 line limit on any returned file.
don't want to overload other people's mail relays or
server. We reserve the right to withdraw the service at
time. We are currently monitoring all use of the server,
your reading will not initially enjoy privacy
Enjoy!"
The W3 team at CERN (www-bug@info.cern.ch
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3.4. Using World-Wide
When using a graphical interface, you access the WWW functions
pressing mouse buttons. In particular, references are highlighted
underlined words. To follow a link, click on the
reference
The line mode browser is a more simple user interface: references
numbers in square brackets next to words. Type the number and hit
RETURN key to follow a reference. For example, here is the
of the Subject Catalogue you get on the CERN server
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The World-Wide Web Virtual Library: Subject
WWW VIRTUAL
This is the subject catalogue. See also arrangement by
type[1]. Mail www-request@info.cern.ch to add pointers to
list
Aeronautics Mailing list archive index[2]. See also NASA LaRC[3]
Agriculture[4] Separate list, see also Almanac mail servers[5].
Astronomy and
Abstract Indexes[6] at NASA, Astrophysics work
FNAL[7], Princeton's[8] Sloane Digital
Survey, the STELAR project, Space
Electronic Information System[9], the
University Astronomy Group[10], the
Solar Observatory[11], Astrophysics work at
AHPCRC[12]. See also: space[13].
Bio Sciences[14] Separate list
Computing[15] Separate list
1-81, Back, for more, Quit, or Help
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The following commands are available within WWW. Some are
when not applicable (e.g., Find is enabled only when the
document is an index). Angle brackets (<>) indicate an
parameter
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gives a list of available commands depending on the context,
the hypertext address of the current document
displays the on-line manual
exits WWW
Up,
scrolls up or down one page in the current document
Top,
goes to the top or the bottom of the current document
goes back to the document you were reading before
goes back to the first document you were reading
Next,
goes to the next or previous document in the list of pointers
the document that led to the current one
gives a numbered list of the links from the current document.
follow a link, type in the number
Recall
if number is omitted, gives a numbered list of the documents
have visited
To display one specific document, re-issue the command
number
queries the current index with the supplied keyword(s). A list
matching entries is displayed with possibly links to
details. Find can be omitted if the first keyword does
conflict with another WWW command. Multiple keywords are
by blanks
Go
goes to the document represented by the given hypertext address
which is interpreted relatively to the current document
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RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
Extra command available on Unix versions only
prints the current document, without the numbered
references. The default print command is lpr, but it may
defined in your local working environment by the
WWW_PRINT_COMMAND
To access WWW with the line mode browser, type: www. The
first document will appear on your screen. From this point,
should be able to navigate through the WWW universe by reading
text and following the instructions at the bottom of the screen.
you want to start with a first document other than the default, or
you want to change some other aspect of the usual interaction,
are a number of command line parameters and options available.
full format of the www command to invoke the line mode browser is
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| www > |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
where
is the hypertext address of the document at which you want
start browsing
queries the index specified by docaddress with the
keyword(s). A list of matching entries is displayed.
keywords are separated by blanks
Options are
-
non-interactive mode. The document is formatted and displayed
the screen. Pages are delimited with form feed characters (FF).
-
adds a list of the addresses of all documents references to
end. Non-interactive mode only
-
sets the page length to n lines. Without a number, makes the
length infinite. Default is 24.
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RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
-
sets the page width to n columns. The default is 78, 79 or 80
depending on the system
-
hides references in the text. Useful, when printing out
document
-
displays the version number of the software
The commands listed above should be available in all clients.
may be abbreviated (CAPITAL letters indicate
abbreviation). Case is not significant. Special characteristics
the line mode browser interface are
type in a number given in [] and hit the RETURN key to follow
link associated to the reference
hit the RETURN key to display the next page of the
document (without a reference number).
3.5.
WWW gives you access to an information universe. Let's say you
to know how many film versions of The Three Musketeers there
been. You browse the WWW Subject Catalogue and select Movies
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Movie database browser (Cardiff
A Hypertext movie database
Sep 2nd... Your help is needed..[1]
Aug 29th.. Images, sounds, mpegs & reviews[2]
Select the type of search you'd like to perform:-
Movie people[3].....(multi Oscar winners)[4]
Movie titles[5] .....(multi Oscar winners)[6]
Searches the "rec.arts.movies" movie database system,
by Col Needham et-al
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RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
Here[7] is some information on list maintainers
If you have a comment or suggestion, it can be recorded here[8]
HERE[9] is a pre-1986 movie information gopher server. (
Manchester UK
1-13, Back, Up, for more, Quit, or Help: 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You select Movie titles, and then type three musketeers as keywords
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Movie title
MOVIE TITLE
Enter a movie title or substring
Example, to search for movies with the word "alien" in
title, type "alien".
This will return details on several movies, including Aliens[1]
Note: if the title begins with A or The, leave it out. If you'
determined to include it, then put ', A' or ', The' at the end
the of the substring e.g
Enforcer,
Gauntlet,
Searching is case insensitive
search menu[2] Fun and Games page[3] COMMA home page[4]
FIND <keywords>, 1-5, Back, Up, for more
or Help: three
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You find that there have been six film versions of the story
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RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Movie
Here are the results from the search for "three musketeers
Three Musketeers, The (1921)[1]
Three Musketeers, The (1933)[2]
Three Musketeers, The (1935)[3]
Three Musketeers, The (1939)[4]
Three Musketeers, The (1948)[5]
Three Musketeers, The (1974)[6]
search menu[7] Fun and Games page[8] COMMA home page[9]
Rob.H[10]
Robert.Hartill@cm.cf.ac.
FIND <keywords>, 1-10, Back, Up, Quit, or Help: 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You decide to look for more information on the 1921 version
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Movie
Here are the results from the search for "Three Musketeers, The (1921)"
THREE MUSKETEERS, THE (1921)
1921
Cast Belcher, Charles[1] ......
De Brulier, Nigel[2] ......Cardinal
De La Motte, Marguerite[3] ......Constance
Fairbanks, Douglas[4] ......D'
Irwin, Boyd[5] ......Comte de
MacLaren, Mary[6] ......Queen Anne of
Menjou, Adolphe[7] ......Louis
Pallette, Eugene[8] ......
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RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
Poff, Lon[9] ......Father
Siegmann, George[10] ......
Stevens, Charles[11] ......
Directed by Niblo, Fred[12]
Music by Gottschalk, Louis F.[13]
1-21, Back, Up, for more, Quit, or Help: 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You're hooked! You decide to look for more information on
Menjou, search more titles, find Oscar winners, etc
3.6. Learning more about World-Wide
World-Wide Web is being developed at CERN (European Particle
Laboratory) by the World-Wide Web team leaded by Tim Berners-Lee.
reports, comments, suggestions, etc. should be mailed to
www-bug@info.cern.
On-line documentation is available from info.cern.ch, for
FTP or using the remote WWW client
Mailing lists: www-talk@info.cern.
To subscribe send a mail to www-talk-request@info.cern.
Usenet newsgroup: comp.infosystems.
4.
4.1. What is
WAIS, Wide Area Information Server, is a distributed
retrieval system. It helps users search databases over networks
an easy-to-use interface. The databases (called sources) are
collections of text-based documents, but they may also contain sound
pictures or video as well. Databases on topics ranging
Agriculture to Social Science can be searched with WAIS
The databases may be organized in different ways, using
database systems, but the user isn't required to learn the
languages of the different databases. WAIS uses natural
queries to find relevant documents. The result of the query is a
of documents which contain the words of the query: no
information is extracted from the query
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RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
4.2. Who can use
WAIS uses the client-server model to provide access to databases.
must be on the international TCP/IP network (the Internet) in
to use a client on your computer to access WAIS
If you have e-mail access only, or if you are not on the Internet
can still exploit some of the potential of WAIS. An e-mail
is available at the address: waismail@quake.think.com which
e-mail access to WAIS databases (see E-mail access section
Using WAIS below).
4.3. How to get to
There are many WAIS servers throughout the network.
directory-of-servers database is available at several sites. You
address a query to it, e.g., to find out what databases are
on a particular subject. This database is also available
anonymous FTP from Think.com in the directory /wais as
wais-sources.tar.Z
If you do not have access to a WAIS client, (at least)
demonstration sites are available to allow you to get acquainted
WAIS. You can telnet to
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| quake.think.com (login: wais) |
| sunsite.unc.edu (login: swais) |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
The two demonstration sites above run swais (Screen WAIS), a
WAIS client for Unix
4.4. Using
There are many freely available client software programs for
operating systems (Unix, VMS, MVS, MS-DOS, OS/2 and Macintosh)
for specific environments (GNU Emacs, X-Windows, Openlook, Sunview
NeXT, and MS-Windows). See the list of freely available
software in Appendix A
The client interface differs slightly on different platforms
However, the queries are performed in the same way, whatever
interface
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RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
* Step 1: The user selects a set of databases to be searched
among the available databases
* Step 2: The user formulates a query by giving keywords to
searched for
* Step 3: When the query is run, WAIS asks for information from
selected database
* Step 4: Headlines of documents satisfying the query are displayed
The selected documents contain the requested words and phrases
Selected documents are ranked according to the number of matches
* Step 5: To retrieve a document, the user simply selects it from
resulting list
* Step 6: If the response is incomplete, the user can state
question differently or feed back to the system any one or more
the selected documents he finds relevant
* Step 7: When the search is run again, the results will be
to include documents which are similar to the ones selected
meaning documents which share a large number of common words
4.4.1. E-mail access
You can query WAIS databases and retrieve documents by
commands in the body part of an e-mail message
waismail@quake.think.com. The Subject: line is ignored. The
commands are (a vertical bar (|) indicates a choice of parameters):
to get the help
maxres
to set the maximum number of results to be returned
search source-name | "source-name1 source-name2 ..."
where
source-
is a source name as found in the directory-of-servers (with
without the .src ending). Use double-quotes (") to
several sources to be searched
are the words you would normally type into a query
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You may specify several search requests in a mail message. If
don't know what sources you can search, just try anything. If
source name is not recognised, you'll get a list of sources
retrieve
to retrieve a document from a database. docid is a DocID
returned by a search above. You may put more than one
request in a mail message, but you must leave a blank line
requests. The docid must be written exactly as returned by
search request, including any spaces. You can retrieve non-
documents as well as text. If the document is of type TEXT or
you will get the result directly. Other types will be UUENCODED
DocID:
same as retrieve. This form is identical to the form which
returned by a search request. It makes it easy to use the
mail function to retrieve results
4.5.
When you log in to the demonstration site at quake.think.com,
have immediate access to the directory-of-servers database via
swais client software. To find recipes using papaya, you would
the recipes database and give papaya as the keyword. Here are
results of the search
-----------------------------------------------------------------
# Score Source Title
001: 1000 (recipes) arielle@ta Re: Dawn's Muffins, Pt III 339
002: 1000 (recipes) arielle@ta Re: Muffins 3 632
003: 1000 (recipes) arielle@ta Re: Pineapple 678
004: 750 (recipes) arielle@ta Re: Pork and Papaya Salad 33
005: 750 (recipes) arielle@ta Re: Bread 681
006: 500 (recipes) roder@cco. Re: NONFAT BAKERY COLLECTION 423
007: 500 (recipes) shiva@hoss Re: Juice Recipes 65
008: 250 (recipes) arielle@ta Re: Prawn Salad 49
009: 250 (recipes) arielle@ta Re: COLLECTION: Lots of Avoca 447
010: 250 (recipes) mecca@acsu Re: REQUEST: blender-made fru 29
011: 250 (recipes) Ann.Adamci Re: Re: REQUEST: blender-made 38
012: 250 (recipes) patth@Pani Re: Re: REQUEST: blender-made 49
013: 250 (recipes) arielle@ta Re: Avocados 459
014: 250 (recipes) red_trek@d Re: VEGAN: red beans and rice 78
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You can then select any of the above documents for viewing,
example, the Pork and Papaya Salad recipe
EARN Staff [Page 25]
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.food.
From: arielle@taronga.com (Stephanie da Silva
Subject: Pork and Papaya
Message-ID: <5BBP2SB@taronga.com
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1993 06:51:47
Lines: 23
1/4 cup dried
1/2 cup balsamic
1/4 cup walnut
1/4 cup chicken
1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon ground
1 pound cooked boneless pork loin
1 head Belgian
Bibb lettuce
2 papayas, seeded, peeled and sliced
2 avocados, seeded, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup broken walnut
In a small bowl pour enough boiling water over currants to cover
Let stand 5 minutes; drain. For dressing, in a screw-top
combine vinegar, oil, chicken broth, honey, and cinnamon. Cover
shake well. Trim fat from pork; slice thinly. Separate leaves
Belgian endive. Line 6 salad plates with lettuce leaves.
pork, endive, papaya, and avocado on plates. Sprinkle
currants and walnuts. Drizzle dressing over salads
Stephanie da Silva arielle@taronga.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
If you give more than one keyword, then all documents containing
of the keywords will be listed
4.6. Learning more about
A bibliography of documents, services and sources for WAIS
maintained by Barbara Lincoln Brooks of WAIS Inc. The bibliography
available from ftp.wais.com in the directory /pub/wais-inc-doc
with many other WAIS documents
There are currently four main FTP sites for WAIS documentation
software
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RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
* ftp.cnidr.
* ftp.wais.
* quake.think.
* sunsite.unc.
For information on free WAIS software contact freewais@cnidr.
Mailing list: wais-discussion@wais.
To subscribe send a mail to wais-discussion-request@wais.
Usenet newsgroup: comp.infosystems.
WAIS was developed at Thinking Machines Corporation
5.
5.1. What is
Archie is an information system. It offers an electronic
service for locating information in the international TCP/IP
(the Internet).
The best known use of archie is for scanning a database of
contents of more than 1000 anonymous FTP sites around the world
Currently, this database contains more than 2,100,000 file names
anonymous FTP sites. This database is known as the archie database
The files made available at anonymous FTP sites are software
for various systems (Windows, MS-DOS, Macintosh, Unix, etc.),
utilities, information or documentation files, mailing list or
group discussion archives. At most FTP sites, the resources
organized hierarchically in directories and subdirectories.
database tracks both the directory path and the file names
The archie database is automatically updated, thereby ensuring
the information is accurate. Using this database, users can
find the the location of files they need without logging onto
machines
5.2. Who can use
Users on any network can access the archie database by
mail. Other means of access are available to users on the
(see the section Using ARCHIE below for details).
You are requested to respect a few basic rules when you
information from an archie server
EARN Staff [Page 27]
RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
* avoid connecting during working hours; most of the
servers
not dedicated machines, they have local functions as well
* make your queries as specific as possible; the response will
quicker and shorter
* user interfaces installed on your computer contribute to
load on the server sites, please use them
* use the archie server closest to you and, in particularly, don'
overload the transatlantic lines
5.3. How to get to
The archie database is maintained in the following locations
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Host Country |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| archie.au Australia |
| archie.edvz.uni-linz.ac.at Austria |
| archie.univie.ac.at Austria |
| archie.uqam.ca Canada |
| archie.funet.fi Finland |
| archie.th-darmstadt.de Germany |
| archie.doc.ic.ac.uk Great-Britain |
| archie.ac.il Israel |
| archie.unipi.it Italy |
| archie.wide.ad.jp Japan |
| archie.kyoto-u.ac.jp Japan |
| archie.hana.nm.kr Korea |
| archie.sogang.ac.kr Korea |
| archie.nz New Zealand |
| archie.rediris.es Spain |
| archie.luth.se Sweden |
| archie.switch.ch Switzerland |
| archie.ncu.edu.tw Taiwan |
| archie.ans.net USA |
| archie.internic.net USA |
| archie.rutgers.edu USA |
| archie.sura.net USA |
| archie.unl.edu USA |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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There are three ways to access the archie database: via a
client, interactive Telnet session or electronic mail. Each type
access is described below in the Using ARCHIE section
5.4. Using
The format of the parameters is given at the end of this section
Angle brackets (<>) indicate an optional parameter; a vertical
(|) indicates a choice of parameters
Note: A new version of the archie server (3.0) is now available.
of the commands for interactive access and the e-mail interface
slightly different from previous versions of the server (2.11
before). Command formats marked with a (+) are valid in version 3.0
only, those marked with a (*) are acceptable only in
versions. To find out which version is installed at the server
wish to use, issue the version command
5.4.1. Using a local client
Usage of these clients is encouraged since they provide quick
easy non-interactive access to the archie servers, and thus
better performance of the servers and better response time for
user
Public domain clients for accessing archie servers are
for: Macintosh, MS-DOS, OS/2, VMS, NeXT, Unix and X-Windows.
clients are available for anonymous FTP from the archie sites
the directories /pub/archie/clients or /archie/clients. All
platforms support a simple command line client. In addition,
graphical interface (called xarchie) is available for X-Windows
5.4.1.1. Archie client command and
When using a graphical interface, you access the archie
by pressing mousse buttons. The results are displayed
selectable fields for further explorations
The basic archie client is a command with parameters that
enter on your local machine. With most versions of the
client, if you type archie with no parameters, you will get a
of the possible parameters and a short description of each.
format of the command is
EARN Staff [Page 29]
RFC 1580 Guide to Network Resource Tools March 1994
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| archie <-options> string | pattern |
| |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
where the options are
specifies an output file name to store the results (
available with all clients).
lists the result one match per line. This form is suitable
parsing by programs
sorts the result inverted by
m
specifies maximum number of matches to return (# within
range 0 to 1000). The default value is 95.
h archie-
specifies an archie server to send the query to; if
parameter is not given, then the query will be sent to
default archie server, if one is defined
lists known servers and current default server
The following group of options determines the kind of
performed on the database. They are mutually exclusive
a match occurs if the file/directory name contains string.
search is case insensitive
as above, but the search is case sensitive
string must EXACTLY match (including case) the file/
name in the database. This is the DEFAULT search method
searches the database using pattern. It contains
characters which must be interpreted before performing
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search
There may be some slight differences in the options available
different clients on different platforms
The result is a list of FTP site addresses with files
directories matching the argument, the size of the file, its
modification date and its directory. By default, the list
sorted by host address. See the Examples section below for
example of archie output
5.4.2. Using Telnet
To access an archie server interactively, telnet to one of
existing servers (see the list of servers in the section How
get to ARCHIE above). At the login: prompt enter archie, the
procedure ends leaving the user at a archie> prompt. The server
ready for user requests. The following commands are available
exit, quit,
exits archie
help
invokes the on-line help. If issued with commandname, the
request is restricted to the specified topic. Pressing
RETURN key exits from the on-line help
list
provides a list of the sites in the database and the time
which they were last updated. The optional parameter limits
list to sites matching pattern. The result is a list of
names, sites IP address and date of the last update in
database. The command list with no pattern will list all
in the database (more than 1000 sites!). E.g.,
list \.de
will list all German
site(*) site-
lists the directories and, recursively, the subdirectories,
site-name in the database. The result may be very long
whatis
searches the database of software package descriptions
string. The search is case-insensitive
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prog string |
find(+) string |
searches the database for string or pattern which
the name of the resource to be found in the database.
may be performed in a number of different ways specified in
variable search (set command) which also decides
interpretation of the parameter as string or pattern.
result is a list of FTP site addresses with matching entries
the size of the resource, its last modification date and
directory to find it. The number of hits is limited by
maxhits variable (set command). The result of prog can
sorted in different ways, depending on the value of the
variable (set command). By default, the variables search
maxhits and sortby are set to, respectively, exact match
on string, 1000 hits and unsorted resulting list. Typing
keyboard interrupt character during a search will abort it.
results up to that time are displayed. See the Examples
below for an example of the prog command and its results
mail <,email2...>
sends the result of the last command in a mail message to
specified e-mail address(es). If issued with no argument,
result is sent to the address specified in the variable
(set command).
show <variable
displays the value of the given variable name. If issued
no argument, it displays all variables. See the set
below for the possible variables
set variable
sets one of the archie's variables. Values of these
affect how archie interacts with the user
Variables and values are
compress(+) compress-
specifies the compression method (none or compress) to be
before mailing a result with the mail command. The default
none
encode(+) encode-
specifies the encoding method (none or uuencode) to be
before mailing a result with the mail command. This variable
ignored if compress is not set. The default is none
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mailto email <,email2 ...>
specifies the e-mail address(es) to mail the result of the
command when mail is issued with no arguments
maxhits
specifies the maximum number of matches prog will
(within the range 0 to 1000). The default value is 1000.
search search-
determines the kind of search performed on the database by
command: prog string | pattern. search-values are
a parttial and case insensitive search is performed
string on the database, e.g.:
"is" will match "islington" and "this" and "poison
as above but the search is case sensitive, e.g.:
"TeX" will match "LaTeX" but not "Latex
the parameter of prog (string) must EXACTLY match (
case) the string in the database. The fastest search
of all, and the default
pattern is interpreted before performing a search on
database
sortby sort-
describes how to sort the result of prog. sort-values are
on the FTP site address in lexical order
by the modification date, most recent first
by the size of the found files or directories,
first
on file or directory name in lexical order
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unsorted (default
The reverse sorting orders from those described here
obtained by prepending r to the sortby value given. (e.g.,
reverse hostname order hostname is rhostname).
term terminal-type >
tells the archie server what type of terminal you
using, and optionally its size in rows and columns, e.g.:
set term xterm 24 100
5.4.3. Using electronic mail
Users limited to electronic mail connectivity can access
archie servers by sending mail to the domain address of one of
servers listed in the section How to get to ARCHIE (e.g.,
archie@archie.ac.il). The commands are sent in the body part
the mail
The electronic mail interface to an archie server recognizes
subset of the commands described in Using Telnet. Most
commands and particularities to the e-mail interface are
below. If an empty message, or a message containing no
requests is received, it will be considered to be a help request
Command lines begin in the first column. All lines that do
match a valid command are ignored. The Subject: line is
as if it were part of the message body
sends you the help file. The help command is exclusive, ie
other commands in the same message are ignored
path return-
set mailto(+) return-
specifies a return e-mail address different from that which
extracted from the message header. If you do not receive
reply from the archie server within several hours, you
need to add a path command to your message request
list pattern
provides a list of the sites in the database that match
and the time at which they were last updated. The result is
list with site names, sites IP address and date of the
update in the database
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site(*) site-
lists the directories and, recursively, the subdirectories,
site-name in the database
whatis string
searches the database of software packages descriptions
each string. The search is case insensitive
prog pattern
find(+) pattern
searches the database for each interpretation of pattern
represents the name of a resource to be found in the database
If multiple patterns are placed on one line, in that case,
results will be mailed back in one message. If multiple
lines appear, then multiple messages will be returned, one
each prog line. Results are sorted by FTP site address
lexical order. If pattern contains spaces, it must be
with single (') or double (") quotes. The search is
insensitive
compress(*)
causes the result of the current request to be compressed
uuencoded. When you receive the reply, you should run
through uudecode. This will produce a .Z file. You can then
uncompress on this file and get the result of your
set compress(+) compress-
specifies the compression method (none or compress) to be
before mailing the result of the current request. The
is none
set encode(+) encode-
specifies the encoding method (none or uuencode) to be
before mailing the result of the current request. This
is ignored if compress is not set. The default is none
Note: set compress compress and set encode uuencode
produce the same result as the former compress command
nothing past this point is interpreted. Useful when a
is automatically appended at the end of your mail messages
Description of
A pattern describes a character string including characters
take a special meaning. The special meaning is lost when "\"
put before the character. The special characters are
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.
(period) this is the wildcard character that replaces any
character, e.g., "...." will match any 4 character string
^
(caret) if "^" appears at the beginning of the pattern,
the searched string must start with the substring following
"^". If it occurs anywhere else in the pattern it is
as non-special, e.g.:
"^efghi" will match "efghi" or "efghijlk" but
"abcefghi
$
(dollar) if "$" appears at the end of the pattern, then
