Gopher is a computer program used to organize and present information on the internet, this service that preceded the WWW (Word Wide Web) or world computer network, was created at the University of Minnesota in 1991, being one of the first systems that allowed to move from one site to another by choosing an option in the menu of a page.
This feature was one of the reasons why gopher gained so much fame, standing out among its competitors, who ended up being replaced by the web.
Its main objectives were: a hierarchical organization of files so that they are identified by users. A simple arrangement. A system that is easy to create and very economical. Enlargement in the images of the archives, such as: searches.
Gopher represents a document search and retrieval system, which adopts and combines the most favorable characteristics of search engines, using databases and information collections. This software is guided by a client / server model that makes it possible for the users of the different systems to browse, investigate and retrieve documents found on the various distributed servers.
The causes that led to the creation of gopher was the need for an extensive information system that would allow any user to publish documents. The gopher interface is designed to appear like a filesystem since this is a good model for searching for information.
Despite the advantages that this program can offer users, there are certain factors that make it unfavorable, some of them are:
This system was designed to share information through plain texts; Therefore, all kinds of transmitted files must be processed separately.
If a server became very famous, it could saturate its access to the network.
Any modification made to the file or menu, such as moving it to another main menu, or deleting it; I would deprecate any other menu that takes it as an item.
Currently the gopher servers are disabled, they can only be found as testimonials. Internet Explorer discarded it in 2002. However, the browser firefo x accepts the system until version 4.
