[gopher] Item Type Questions

[Cameron Kaiser]

> So, I'm trying to write the 90% of a gopher client that can be in 'pure' 
> web-usable javascript + DOM, in the hopes that there'll be a way to 
> implement the other 90% in Mozilla's new extension framework soon. Over 
> the course of my work, I've run into a couple questions I can't find an 
> answer for:
> 
> 1. Is item type 3 supposed to be interpreted as a link, or text like i?

There isn't clear suggestion on this in the RFC, but I've always treated it
like i in my client implementations.

> 2. What is actually the difference between 5 ('dos file') and 9 ('binary 
> file')? Is it just a vague hint on what the binary might be used for?

Pretty much. Over the wire they are handled the same. See also itemtypes
4 and 6, which the wire protocol is the same for, but hints the client
about the intended system.

Bucktooth assigns 5 to .zip, 4 to .hqx, and 9 to anything else (like .gz),
unless you explicitly say differently.

> 3. Are there any item types other than i, h, and the ones in RFC1436 in 
> common use I should be aware of?

I and g were part of the spec and are pretty common.

Unofficially, you can also see:

I meaning specifically jpeg, even though it could be any image
p or P for PNG, or sometimes PDF
d for PDF
s for a generic audio file (client decides)
x for XML
c for CSS

> 4. Are CSO servers common enough that supporting them should be a 
> priority? Where is the protocol specified? Is there a specified (or 
> unspecified but commonly understood by clients) URL scheme for them? I'm 
> already translating stuff like 8 and T into URLs, adding another would 
> be easy.

CSO servers are not very common anymore. I have very basic support in
OverbiteFF. There is an example CSO server running at Floodgap. Point your
CSO or ph/qi client at floodgap.com 105. If you don't have one, telnet to
the port and send a HELP command.

I've never seen a spec for a CSO URL specifically; Lynx advertises support
but (amusingly) has you write it as a gopher:// URL against port 105. 
ELinks will take a cso://host/ URL, but I don't see any standard about what
follows.

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  Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com
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