1. R. Thieman: Large Database Access and Usage in the Earth and Space Sciences
227
This service provides more complete searching capability, but is still somewhat
limited to mainly text capabilities.
Most recently, the World-Wide Web (WWW) and the Mosaic interface for using it
have become available and have grown phenomenally in popularity. The interface
offers "pages" having both text and graphics in a pleasing format which is easy to
create.
In addition, the text can be highlighted to indicate a hyperlink which will
automatically connect the user to another page on the network upon clicking a
mouse on the highlighted text. This in addition to the fact that gateways to FTP,
gopher, and W AIS are readily available make the WWW approach comprehensive
to needs. There is still, however, the problem of finding which pages have the
information needed by the user.
Many groups have created search tools for the WWW. These are often called
"spiders" since they crawl around on the Web keeping a textual record of what is
found. The spider services then offer the capability of searching their information
databases usually through a free text query. Though these services are very useful,
they are still prone to missing important items for several reasons. The methods
used by these programs to traverse the Web must handle a very complex
interconnection setup. The programs are usually offered as freeware to all users.
This makes them readily available to all, but it also means that there is no support
for keeping a complete, error-free, and continuously supported software system.
Nonetheless, the WWW has proven to be a very useful system and this is clear from
the growth in its usage.
Figure I shows some recent statistics of the use of the National Science Foundation
network (NSFNET). The statistics indicate the number of megabytes which have
flowed through the network using the protocols associated with the various
network tools for the months of January through August of 1994. Five examples
are given though many more are available. These represent general FTP statistics,
gopher usage, Simple Mail Tranfer Protocol (SMTP) indicative of one type of
email flow, and WWW usage. FTP is clearly the most popular method of
transferring information on the network at present. FTP usage, gopher, and
electronic mail usage have remained about the same or grown slightly during the
eight month period. WWW and the Mosaic interface, however, have only been
recently introduced, but are showing phenomenal growth. In the eight month
period, the number of bytes being transferred using WWW has tripled to the point
that it is now second only to FTP in this set of examples. It is for this reason that
some call the WWW the "killer application" since there is worry that it will grow to
the point of choking the network with an overwhelming volume of information
flow.
Despite the many useful aspects of the WWW it is still not completely satisfactory
for finding useful data and information. Some experts in information retrieval,
such as librarians, use the WWW, but prefer the more established information
finding systems. They know that many services, such as the commercial service
Dialog, support searches by putting information in a standard format and creating
software that makes good use of the format. The commercial services have also
existed for a long time and are committed to maintenance of the software and the
continuation of service into the future.
227
This service provides more complete searching capability, but is still somewhat
limited to mainly text capabilities.
Most recently, the World-Wide Web (WWW) and the Mosaic interface for using it
have become available and have grown phenomenally in popularity. The interface
offers "pages" having both text and graphics in a pleasing format which is easy to
create.
In addition, the text can be highlighted to indicate a hyperlink which will
automatically connect the user to another page on the network upon clicking a
mouse on the highlighted text. This in addition to the fact that gateways to FTP,
gopher, and W AIS are readily available make the WWW approach comprehensive
to needs. There is still, however, the problem of finding which pages have the
information needed by the user.
Many groups have created search tools for the WWW. These are often called
"spiders" since they crawl around on the Web keeping a textual record of what is
found. The spider services then offer the capability of searching their information
databases usually through a free text query. Though these services are very useful,
they are still prone to missing important items for several reasons. The methods
used by these programs to traverse the Web must handle a very complex
interconnection setup. The programs are usually offered as freeware to all users.
This makes them readily available to all, but it also means that there is no support
for keeping a complete, error-free, and continuously supported software system.
Nonetheless, the WWW has proven to be a very useful system and this is clear from
the growth in its usage.
Figure I shows some recent statistics of the use of the National Science Foundation
network (NSFNET). The statistics indicate the number of megabytes which have
flowed through the network using the protocols associated with the various
network tools for the months of January through August of 1994. Five examples
are given though many more are available. These represent general FTP statistics,
gopher usage, Simple Mail Tranfer Protocol (SMTP) indicative of one type of
email flow, and WWW usage. FTP is clearly the most popular method of
transferring information on the network at present. FTP usage, gopher, and
electronic mail usage have remained about the same or grown slightly during the
eight month period. WWW and the Mosaic interface, however, have only been
recently introduced, but are showing phenomenal growth. In the eight month
period, the number of bytes being transferred using WWW has tripled to the point
that it is now second only to FTP in this set of examples. It is for this reason that
some call the WWW the "killer application" since there is worry that it will grow to
the point of choking the network with an overwhelming volume of information
flow.
Despite the many useful aspects of the WWW it is still not completely satisfactory
for finding useful data and information. Some experts in information retrieval,
such as librarians, use the WWW, but prefer the more established information
finding systems. They know that many services, such as the commercial service
Dialog, support searches by putting information in a standard format and creating
software that makes good use of the format. The commercial services have also
existed for a long time and are committed to maintenance of the software and the
continuation of service into the future.