INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
Reproduced with permission from NeXT Computer, Inc.
A Reference Guide to NeXT in Higher Education, Fall 1992
ยช 1992 NeXT Computer, Inc
"I fully expect that we'll see gigabit-per-second data highways and distributed applications that exploit them by the turn of the century. What worries me is whether I'll be able to find what I'm looking for."
This comment made by writer Jon Udell in a recent Byte magazine article is typical among users of network-based information. As the amount of material available on networks-from bulletin boards and journal abstracts to news services and on-line library catalogs-continues to grow, so do the problems associated with gaining speedy access to the data.
NeXTSTEP provides users with a number of innovative methods for finding that ubiquitous needle in an information haystack. While most platforms rely on public domain search engines for accessing networked information, NeXTSTEP comes bundled with Digital Librarian, an innovative searching and indexing environment. Digital Librarian allows users to create custom libraries for their personal reference needs. A fast-searching index option lets users index multiple files and use a variety of Boolean search styles, that are simply not possible with most public domain engines. Using this technology, users can easily narrow or broaden the scope of a search.
In addition, many schools, including McGill University and the University of Minnesota, have used NeXTSTEP to build their own protocols for gaining access to networked information. And others used Interface Builder to construct graphical interfaces that allow users to sidestep cumbersome command-line interfaces. The University of Minnesota's Gopher, for example, allows users to browse through a hierarchy of information-information that is stored on multiple servers but, thanks to Gopher, can now be located from one source. Meanwhile, McGill's Archie, known as the "server's server," manages an archive-server indexing system that allows users to retrieve any of the 2 million-plus files of information available at FTP sites on the Internet.
With NewsGrazer users of NeXT machines also have a much easier time accessing Usenet, the worldwide system that supports hundreds of computer discussions, than their counterparts on other platforms who must contend with older command-line interfaces or confusing X-Windows` applications.
The following pages provide a number of innovative methods for more easily getting network-based information at your fingertips: the NeXT way to say good-bye to the emerging computer infoglut.