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tools:gopher [2026/03/12 20:55] – [Visually] Humphrey Boa-Garttools:gopher [2026/03/12 22:29] (current) – [Dynamic Gopher Sites] Humphrey Boa-Gart
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 **Gopher** is an ancient internet protocol for serving something similar to web pages. Like HTTP, it serves pages, media & files, using inline links to connect the pages of a Gopher site. **Gopher** is an ancient internet protocol for serving something similar to web pages. Like HTTP, it serves pages, media & files, using inline links to connect the pages of a Gopher site.
  
-Unlike HTTP, there are no fancy headers. Neither is there style information associated with it. Gopher markup language is a lot more concise than HTML, providing just barely enough functionality to tell the server where on the page to put links & plain text. All styling is decided by the visitor's Gopher browser, just like with [[tools:irc|IRC]]. As a result, Gopher sites are //extremely// fast to load, as they consume a fraction of the bandwidth it takes to transmit an HTML page.+Unlike HTTP, there are no [[tools:http-headers|fancy headers]]. Neither is there style information associated with it. Gopher markup language is a lot more concise than HTML, providing just barely enough functionality to tell the server where on the page to put links & plain text. All styling is decided by the visitor's Gopher browser, just like with [[tools:irc|IRC]]. As a result, Gopher sites are //extremely// fast to load, as they consume a fraction of the bandwidth it takes to transmit an HTML page.
  
 Scripting options are far more limited as well. The Gopher ecosystem relatively resistant to many common methods of browser fingerprinting, as well as ad beacons and advertising in general //(Though it is not entirely private as it does not support TLS)//. This has made the Gopherspace a popular niche destination well into the 21st century for those looking for a simpler, more intentional, and less distracting internet. Scripting options are far more limited as well. The Gopher ecosystem relatively resistant to many common methods of browser fingerprinting, as well as ad beacons and advertising in general //(Though it is not entirely private as it does not support TLS)//. This has made the Gopherspace a popular niche destination well into the 21st century for those looking for a simpler, more intentional, and less distracting internet.
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 ==== Dynamic Gopher Sites ==== ==== Dynamic Gopher Sites ====
  
-It is true that you can only transmit a limited & specific set of data between server & visitor over the Gopher protocol. However, you can do //virtually unlimited// server-side processing as long as the output follows the protocol's transmission format.+It is true that you can only transmit a limited amount of datatypes between server & visitor over the Gopher protocol. However, you can do //virtually unlimited// server-side processing as long as the output follows the protocol's transmission format.
  
-Most Gopher servers have support for running **CGI scripts**, like the internet of old used to have to do with PHP scripts. Modern PHP installs now use a heavily abstracted version of this, which are tailored specifically for HTTP, so they don't work with Gopher servers too well. However, modern PHP installs also come with ''php-cli'', which spits out data in a simplified form //especially// suited for Gopher. You just make a CGI wrapper for your PHP script, and pass it to ''php-cli'' like this:+Most Gopher servers have support for running **CGI scripts**, like the internet of old used to have to do with PHP scripts. Modern PHP installs use heavily abstracted versions of this now, which are tailored specifically for HTTP, so they don't work with Gopher servers too well. However, modern PHP installs also come with ''php-cli'', a command-lined version of PHP which spits out plaintext data in a form //especially// suited for Gopher. You just make a CGI wrapper for your PHP script, and pass it to ''php-cli'' like this:
  
 <file cgi loader.cgi> <file cgi loader.cgi>
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-{{tag>Tools}}+{{tag>Tools Protocols}}
tools/gopher.1773348909.txt.gz · Last modified: by Humphrey Boa-Gart

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