CERN W3 Software Products

W3 software comprises several distinct types of software product:

A Library of code common to the other modules.
Browsers, (clients) which present the information on a specific workstation.
Servers, which extract information from existing file bases or from data bases.
Gateways, which interface W3 to other information systems.

Some browsers, servers and gateways have been written outside CERN, they are based on the library of common code, they are not subject to the present conditions.

In the development of the CERN software, commercial tools have been used, but the resulting code does not incorporate software other than such as has been expressly authorised for distribution.

Library of Common Code

This has been constructed by CERN. It is the basis of many of the other products.

Browsers

Three browsers have been constructed by CERN:

the Line-Mode browser, also "dumb-terminal" browser, the lowest level interface to W3.
the hypertext editor - browser for NeXT workstations.
the browser for Apple Macintosh computers.

These programs are subject to the conditions.

Servers

A generic server for use in a Unix environment has been constructed by CERN. It is the basis of all other servers, and the prime example on which to model other servers.

Other specific servers have been constructed at CERN. Their number is variable: they are not listed here. They are subject to the conditions.

Gateways

These gateways among others have been constructed by CERN:

W.A.I.S. (Wide Area Information Services).
VMS Help (to DEC VAX/VMS help system).

Note: access to the Gopher system is incorporated into the library of common code.