[Index] [Up] [Back] [Next]

5.2 Gopher URLs

Gopher servers can be accessed via URLs in a manner similar to HTTP servers. The major difference is in the file specification: here we must pass the correct descriptors for the file (searchable, directory, etc), as required by the gopher protocol. These are specified by numeric codes specified in the path name, before the name of the file being accessed. The gopher numeric type indicators are:

0 - Text file
1 - Directory
2 - CSO Name Server
4 - Mac *.hqx file
5 - Sound file
7 - Full text index
8 - Telnet session
9 - Binary file

Gopher URL Examples

gopher://gopher.utirc.utoronto.ca/: Retrieve the home menu from the named gopher server, running on the default port number (70).
gopher://gopher.utirc.utoronto.ca/11adaptive.technology: Retrieve the 'adaptive technology' menu from the named gopher server, running on the default port number.
gopher://gumby.brain.headache.edu:151/7fonebook.txt: Access the searchable index 'fonebook.txt' from the named gopher server, running on port number 151.

[Index] [Up] [Back] [Next]