Alternately, a smaller machine can be used for the Gopher or WWW server. Server Availability Gopher and WWW server software is available for the most of the platforms currently used by astronomers. WAIS servers are available for Unix and VMS systems. Gopher and WWW clients are available for even more systems. Alternative to Telnet or Custom Server Gopher or WWW servers can provide almost as much functionality as a Telnet or custom server at a fraction of the software and manpower costs.
Various reasons contribute to the reduced software and manpower costs.
Since existing clients are used, no effort is needed to develop or distribute client software. Because Gopher and WWW are widely installed, public domain systems, a great many people are writing tools for them and making those tools available. It is easy for a Gopher or WWW server to run existing local programs. They can also access tools written in interpreted scripting languages, e.g., Perl or Tcl, which speeds the creation of small tools. WAIS provides a powerful search tool, and WAIS indices are easy to create and easy to access from a Gopher or WWW server.