"Gopher is a consistent, menu-driven interface that allows users to access a large number of varied resources on the Internet without requiring users to know a lot of arcane computer commands"
With Gopher, accessing information on the Internet can be as easy as making a selection on a meny.It allows users to locate, see and retrieve information throughout the internet as if it were in folders and menus on their computer.Anyone can make use of the resources available on the Internet by using Gopher.
Gopher was developed by a team of programmers at the university of minnesota and was released in april of 1991.It allowed campus computer users to quickly gain access to information available on their campus computer network .Within the space of year,however, Gopher began to catch on in popularity both as a means of making information available and for accessing information. Within two years , there were more than 2,000 registered Gopher servers, computer sites where information is made available through the use of gopher.
Menu choices available on a gopher server include text files, graphic images, sounds, or even another menu.These resources may reside on the current computer system(whose menus you are viewing) or on a completely different system perhaps on the other side of the world! GopherSpace is the term used to refer to all the menus and information accessible through the use of Gopher, is a tree like structure: Ther is a root server from which you start, and as you go up the tree into the structure, branches(other menus) will shoot off in every direction. In a properly maintained Gopher server, however, this tree will be wellorganixed by subject matter, making navigation easy.
THERE ARE TWO MAJOR TYPES OF GOPHER SERVERS: THE CAMPUS WIDE INFORMATION SYSTEM(cwis) AND THE GENERAL AUDIENCE INFORMATION SERVER.