Searching the Internet

Searching the Internet

ORTHO BYTES The use of computers, computer programs, and other compuwrized equipment to assist in the orthodontic practice will be reported under this...

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ORTHO BYTES The use of computers, computer programs, and other compuwrized equipment to assist in the orthodontic practice will be reported under this section of the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. Manuscripts, comments, and reprint requests, unless otherwise noted, may be submitted to Dr. Martin N. Abelson, 14720 N. Shotgun PI., Tuscon, AZ 85737.

Searching the Internet Frederick J. Regennitter, D D S , a and Anibal M. Silveira, DDS a Louisville, Ky.

Media attention to the "Information Superhighway" often gives the false impression that the Internet is a free resource that is as organized and easy to use as a telephone. Once the novelty is over, newcomers are often confused and frustrated by the apparent lack of directory assistance. How do you locate specific information or topics of interest? This report looks at some of the search and retrieval applications on the Internet to help you. As the i(nternet increased in complexity, it soon became evident that special provisions were needed to search out information storage sites by topic. Because the Internet is represented by a collective array of millions of computers, it is a virtual "warehouse" of concentrated data. Its decentralized structure tends to put specific: subject matter on different computers in separate areas within the global "warehouse." Whimsically named utility programs such as Gopher, Jughead, and Veronica are software applications that find the storage sites through a variety of search routines (Table I). They can be accessed through the remote log on service known as Telnet. TELNET

Telnet is an Internet protocol that lets you connect to remotely located computers, l To initiate real time searches for information, your Internet access provider or online subscription service has to either support Telnet or run enabling software that lets you conduct database searches and information retrieval. Your computer then acts as a terminal attached to another, geographically removed, computer. In a manner similar to transferring files from a hard drive to a floppy disk, files can be transferred from one computer to another on a network information system. The user From the Department of Orthodontics, Pediatrics and Geriatric Dentistry, University of Louisville School of Dentistry. aAssistant Profes~';or. Copyright © 1996 by the American Association of Orthodontists. 0889-5406/96/$5.00 + 0 8/8/70690

side of the network is known as the client, whereas the information side of the network is called the server. The use of a Telnet session is like connecting to a bulletin board service through a modem. 2 Generally, you also have to know the Internet address of the computer you want to reach. Its textural or numerical address can be used. Keep in mind that not every remote server permits p u n i c access. Some information is meant to remain secure. Without password recognition, corporate or proprietary networks will not allow just anyone to access them. These organizations maintain redundant security mechanisms called f i r e w a l l s to prevent malicious or unauthorized access. WHAT IS GOPHER?

Released in 1991, Gopher was the first navigational software designed to find widely dispersed data. It is often used in conjunction with other search engines like Jughead or Veronica. With names reflecting the youthfulness and ingenuity of Internet culture, these programs do not typically reside on your computer. They must be accessed through another computer. Once accessed, the remote computer runs the program and then sends you the results of the search. The broad area of information and data that Gopher software searches is known as Gopherspace. 3 Gopherspace is the collective term for all servers that allow access to their memory bm~s. The friendliest computers, e.g., those likely to grant a search request, seem to have Internet addresses that end with the .gov or .edu domain designators. Gopher and its family of utility programs makes it easier for Internet explorers to go from place to place on the Net, retrieving data by userdefined subjects or keywords. Gopher is like a huge menu system for the Internet. By design, it hides many of the Internet's complexities. It is analogous to the directory structure of PCs or the folder structure of Macs. Menu entries include guideposts, pointers, to other Gopher menus, file

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American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics May 1996

Interuet search p r o g r a m s

Archie

Derived from the word archives, Archie is a software utility that allows a person to find files on anonymous FTP sites. To use Archie, a person must know the file name of the program one wants to download. It is to FTP what Veronica is to Gopher.

Gopher

The Golden Gopher is the mascot of the University of Minnesota where the Gopher program was developed. The Gopher system will also "Go-fer" information for you from the Internet, giving the name a double meaning.

Gopherspace

Gopherspace is the collection of Gopher menus on all publically accessible Gopher servers on the Internet.

Jughead

Jughead is an acronym for Jonzy's Universal Gopher Hierarchy Excavation And Display. This software package searches menu titles that are short descriptions of the files contained on a gopher server.

Lynx

Lynx is a World Wide Web browser for users on both UNIX and VMS platforms or who are connected to those systems that include VT100 terminals and desktop-based software packages emulating VT100 terminals (e.g., Kermit, Procomm).

Veronica

Veronica is an acronym for Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives. Veronica is a service that maintains an index of titles of Gopher items, and provides keyword searches of those titles. A Veronica search originates with a user's request for a search, submitted through a Gopher client. The result of a Veronica search is a set of Gopher-type data items, which is returned to the Gopher client in the form of a Gopher menu.

WAIS

Wide Area Information Server is a software package designed by Thinking Machines Corporation. By using keywords, a user conducts a WAIS search that returns the file or section of the file that contains those keywords.

transfer p r o t o c o l (FTP) sites, and T e l n e t locations. B e c a u s e the directories are arranged in a hierarchical order, y o u can create a search path m o v i n g f r o m the g e n e r a l to the specific. Paths m a y be retraced and " b o o k m a r k s " added to return to p r e v i o u s l y used directories for i m m e d i a t e access to specific i n f o r m a tion. G o p h e r is run on a scattered set o f university, organizational, and g o v e r n m e n t servers, but it operates in such a w a y that the user is u n a w a r e o f the distributed nature o f the information. Potentially, it c o u l d be located any place in the world, not j u s t on the first c o m p u t e r you accessed. 4,5 You begin a Gopher search with your computer and m o d e m c o n n e c t e d to a " h o m e " G o p h e r server. A s a G o p h e r client, a list o f a v a i l a b l e o p t i o n s is p r e s e n t e d (Fig. 1). T h e i t e m s can b e f u l l t e x t d o c u m e n t s , o t h e r directories, Veronica or Jughead search engines, descriptions of Telnet-accessible s e r v i c e s , e.g., o n - l i n e libraries, or sounds. B e c a u s e G o p h e r i n f o r m a t i o n is b a s e d e i t h e r o n s o u r c e or topic, it acts as a f r a m e w o r k for p e r u s i n g t h r o u g h a lot o f i n f o r m a t i o n s o u r c e s ( s i m i l a r to a b u l l e t i n b o a r d ) . It c o u l d also b e c o n s i d e r e d as a f r a m e w o r k for e x e c u t i n g f u l l - t e x t d o c u m e n t s e a r c h e s . 6

JUGHEAD AND VERONICA J u g h e a d and V e r o n i c a are t w o G o p h e r variants. J u g h e a d c o n d u c t s a s u b j e c t s p e c i f i c s e a r c h on m e n u titles. B y using Boolean o p e r a t o r s , it a l l o w s y o u to u s e A N D / O R / N O T l o g i c to n a r r o w the search. T h i s r e d u c e s the n u m b e r o f returns or " h i t s " and r e t r i e v e s m o r e s p e c i f i c or p e r t i n e n t data. T y p i n g in orthodontics or dentistry w i l l r e s u l t in a s e a r c h o f m e n u i t e m s that c o n t a i n e i t h e r the w o r d s orthodontics or dentistry. If you replace or with and, o n l y i t e m s that c o n t a i n b o t h orthodontics a n d dentistry are returned. S e a r c h i n g on orthodontic treatment not dentistry lists m e n u i t e m s that c o n t a i n orthodontic treatment e x c e p t for t h o s e m e n u i t e m s that also c o n t a i n the w o r d dentistry. D e v e l o p e d at the U n i v e r s i t y o f N e v a d a , V e r o n i c a p r o v i d e s an easy w a y to find G o p h e r based i n f o r m a t i o n without h a v i n g to do a m e n u by m e n u or site by site search (Fig. 2). It is a constantly updated database o f a l m o s t e v e r y m e n u in G o p h e r s p a c e . B y f o l l o w i n g the J u g h e a d e x a m p l e p r e v i o u s l y m e n t i o n e d , this w o u l d result in taking a m e n u tree out to its farthest branch. It m i g h t o v e r l o o k other sources. V e r o n i c a asks you to enter a k e y w o r d , and it then searches G o p h e r s p a c e

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I!nternet Gopher Information Client v2.0.14 V e r o n i c a and Jughead Servers (search gopherspace) i. Veronica FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions about Veronica) 2. How to Compose Veronica Queries 3. Jughead -- Readme 4. Search Gopher Directory Titles Using Veronica at America O n l i n e 5. Search Gopher Directory Titles Using Veronica at PSINet -->

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Search Gopher Directory Titles at University of Cologne

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Search Gopherspace Using Veronica at America Online 8. Search Gopherspace Using Veronica at NYSERNet 9. Search Gopherspace Using Veronica at PSINet i0. Search High-level Gopher Menus Using Jughead at Wash. & Lee U. <7> ii. Search gopherspace at University of Cologne 12. The Australian Veronica Server 13. Veronica Directory at University of Nevada, Reno/ 14. Veronica Directory via MINITEX (UMN)/ 15. Washington and Lee U. -- Finding Gopher Resources/ 7.

Fig. 1. Sample screen from LC MARVEL (Library of Congress Machine-Assisted Realization of theVirtual Electronic Library). Menu item is selected with either arrow keys or typing in number of selection.

items for files and directories for titles containing that keyword. Not only does it find files, it also builds a temporary Gopher menu you can look through. Veronica is best used when you want to cover as much server territory as possible in your search. If you want to connect to a particular area of Gopherspace, Jughead is better. When you are trying to find where you can get FTP files or a newsgroup archive, use the Archie service. To use Archie, you have to know the exact file name for the information you are seeking. Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS) is another system for finding files on the Internet if you are not sure what you are looking for. Although Gopher is analogous to a table of contents, WAIS is similar to the index of a book. It will locate items that are not necessarily major subject headings but are subsets of a larger dataset. It allows searches to be arranged as groups of words, strings, then searches a number of databases simultaneously and returns documents rather than file names. THE WORLD WIDE WEB

The World Wide Web (WWW) is one of the most user friendly areas of the Net. It has enjoyed remarkable acceptance and growth by doing for the Internet what Windows did for PCs, providing user friendliness. A Graphic User Interface (GUI) allows you to use point and click icons instead of hard to remember commands. The difference between WWW and Gopher applications is like watching television as opposed to reading a newspaper. The Gopher view is text oriented, whereas the WWW view is a combination of text and graphics. On WWW, a screen

is known as a page and the first visual display on the monitor of an accessed site is known as a home page. Many home pages are elaborately designed with embedded linkages to related information. They often represent an organizational gathering place with a "welcome mat" enticing you to explore that particular website further. The WWW also adds much needed structure to the Net. By using either highlighted or underlined phrases to indicate topically related information, multiple servers can be accessed to allow you to switch between indexes or documents. It supplies a standard method for giving a unique name to digital "objects" (e.g., documents, directories, photographs, or radiographs) that are archived on the Intemet. Clicking on highlighted words or buttons on a Web page lets you hyperlink to related pages where you might find additional information, a program waiting for you to give it data, or still more links to other points on the Web. At no time, however, do you need to know or care where any of this information is physically stored. It fosters the illusion that all the Internet's computers have been sewn into one, with their myriad of resources ready for you to tap. 7,8 A special software interface is required to use the Web. Known as a browser, this software layers over the search and retrieval mechanics of Gopher applications. The browser must be installed on your computer. To use the WWW efficiently, you need a fast, capable computer with 8 to 12 MB of physical RAM and at least 100 MB of available disk space. Macintosh Power PC (Apple Computer, Inc., Cupertino, Calif.) and 68030/ 40 or 486/DX66 based processors (Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif.) would work well. 9-11

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American JournalofOrthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics May 1996 Search G o p h e r S p a c e by Title word(s): orthodontics --> i. orthodontics 2. Orthodontics (Otho ~) 3. Re: Looking for Net talk about orthodontics and br [ 25] jimj @quip.. 4. Orthodontics 5. The Orthodontics Program 6. Orthodontics/ 7. ORTHODONTICS, DIV OF 8. R e q u i r e d Curriculum: Advanced Orthodontics Certificate Program 9. R e q u i r e d Curriculum: Advanced Orthodontics..niofacial Biology P r o g r a m 10. Orthodontics (ORTH) 11. A d v a n c e d Orthodontics/ 12. A d v a n c e d Orthodontics/ 13. Orthodontics (Otho) 14. Orthodontics (Otho) 15. Orthodontics 16. Medical services plan orthodontics file 17. DLTP D126 Orthodontics/ Pedodontics Appliances I 18. DLTP D216 Orthodontics/ Pedodontics Appliances II 19. DLTP D226 Specialty in Orthodontics/Pedodontics 20. Department of Orthodontics 21. ORTHODONTICS (5 entries)/ 22. Orthodontics 23. ORTHODONTICS (Otho)/ 24. [05/25/1990] - Orthodontics wires considered as "sharps" u 25. O r t h o d o n t i c s ( O t h o ) . t x t 26. 1910.141 -- Orthodontics wires considered as sharps under CPL 2-2.4.. 27. Orthodontics/ 28. Orthodontics/ 29. Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Orthodontics/ 30. Pediatric Dentistry/Orthodontics 31. Orthodontics 32. Orthodontics 33. SGD OR 803, 804 Orthodontics I 34. SGD OR 911, 912 Orthodontics II 35. SGD OR 991, 992 Research: Orthodontics 36. SGD PD 805, 806 Lecture: Orthodontics 37. SGD PD 807, 808 Orthodontics Clinic for Pediatric Dentistry Resident.. 38. SGD OR 803, 804 Orthodontics I 39. SGD OR 911, 912 Orthodontics II 40. SGD OR 991, 992 Research: Orthodontics 41. Doctor of Science in Dentistry in Orthodontics 42. Master of Science in Dentistry in Orthodontics 43. SGD PD 805, 806 Lecture: Orthodontics 44. SGD PD 807, 808 Clinic: Orthodontics 45. Orthodontics (Otho) 46. MSc progran~ae in orthodontics December 7, 1990 47. SOP Orthodontics 48. Orthodontics (Ortd) 49. Orthodontics (Ortd) 50. ORTD Orthodontics/

Fig. 2. Typing keyword at University of Minnesota MINITEX Veronica service resulted in following "hits."

Most Web home pages require a high speed modem (28,800 bps) or data compression to achieve the bandwidth and resultant throughput necessary to prevent you from falling asleep at the computer screen while waiting for images to develop. This is because most Web pages are designed with the assumption that high speed connections are common. Advanced technology compression protocols allow large file pictures and graphics to be displayed with modem speeds of only 14.4 bps. This is a feature that is also

built in the newer 28.8 bps modems and a highly desirable boost to the performance of existing hardware. Web pages can be captured and saved as they are accessed. This allows quick and easy return to images and is one reason large capacity hard drives are recommended when a Web browser is used. Unlike Gopher, which has a command line at the bottom of the screen, a typical browser has a menu bar at the top of the screen. Here you can get help using the program, change certain display characteristics such as screen

American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics Volume 109, No.5 font size, background, and color or text of the program. A scroll bar is usually present because many pages are larger than the viewing window provided on the monitor. Currently, the most popular browsers are NCSA Mosaic, developed by the National Center for Supercoml?uting Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and Netscape (Netscape Communication Corporation, Mountain View, Calif.). Commercial online subscription services, e.g., Compuserve, Prodigy, American OnLine, offer their own browsers. If you do not have the high speed connections that compliment a graphics view of the Web, you can still explore it by using Lynx. Lynx, developed at the University of Kansas, is a textonly browser that provides access to W W W without images, although you can still use the linked information screens. A W W W address is called a uniform resource locator (URL) and always begins with a string of characters, followed by a colon and two forward slashes. URLs indicate where Web resources are stored. Sinfilar to other naming conventions on the Internet, they have the form http://www.host name./ directoryname/fiIename. URLs tell the client computer what Interact protocol to use, e.g. Gopher, FTP, Telnet, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), where the server is located, and which directory on the server the file is found. 12 Without this information, a user has to navigate each level of a folder. Sometimes accessing a URL can produce an error message that says the file was not found. This usually means that the file was either deleted or moved. SUMMARY Your first experiences using the Internet search and retrieval programs will be profitable if you understand

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the environment within which they were designed to work. When used properly, they represent the Internet's directory assistance that will aid you in information discovery. REFERENCES 1. RegennitterFJ, Volz JE. An introduction to the Internet: part I. Am J Orthod Dentofac Orthop 1995;107:214-7. 2. ZelingherJ. Exploringthe Internet. MD Comput 1995;12:100-8. 3. Frisse ME, Kelly EA, Metcalf ES. An Internet primer: resources and responsibilities.Acad Med 1994;69:20-4. 4. McColliganEE, SamuellRL, Jones WT, Moon WA, Pretnar SZ, Johns ML. Providing access to healthcare informationresources using Intemet Gopher technologyas a part of a state-wide medical information network. Proc Annu Syrup Comput Appl Med Care 1994:990. 5. McFarlandMA, Gallagher K, Krash R Boucbard C. Developing a health sciences library Gopher: more involved than meets the eye. Bull Med Libr Assoc 1995;83:216-20. 6. EisenbergA.Wordsat play on the Internet. SciAm 1994;271:I 16. 7. McEnery KW. The Internet, World-WideWeb, and Mosaic: an overview. Am J Roentgenol 1995;12:469-73. 8. Metcalf ES, Frisse ME, Hassan SW, Schnase JL. Academicnetworks: Mosaic and World Wide Web. Acad Med 1994;69:270-3. 9. Eager B. Using the WorldWideWeb. Indianapolis,Indiana:Que, 1994:48. 10. McKinneyWP, WagnerJM, BuntonG, Kirk LM. A guide to Mosaic and the World Wide Web for physicians. MD Comput 1995;12:109-14. 11. Dougherty D, Korean R. The Mosaic handbook for Microsoft Windows. Sebastopol, California: O'Reilly, 1994:107-9. 12. Schatz RR, Hardin JB. NCSA Mosaic and the WorldWide Web: global hypermedia protocols for the Internet. Science 1994;265:895-901.

Reprint requests to: Dr. Fred Regennitter Department of Orthodontics Universityof LouisvilleSchool of Dentistry Louisville, KY 40292