Archie was developed by three students at McGill University in Montreal. They were tired of slogging through hundreds of file libraries looking for "neat stuff," and so they decided to create a master directory that could keep track of where public files might be stored. They came up with Archie, which functions as both a catalog and an index of FTP sites.

Supposedly short for "Archive," Archie is a specific type of search program - in this case a file locator - that looks for files in anonymous FTP file libraries (archives accessible to the public) and housed at over 1200 sites around the world. Actually, Archie is a collection of servers that regularly talk to each other and pool their information - about 200 Gigabytes - into a huge, global database that is periodically updated.

Once a month, Archie searches nearly all of the anonymous FTP sites on the Internet and compiles a list of all the files. Then he sits and waits for you to query him. If you are looking for a specific file or group of files, Archie will point you to the appropriate FTP sites and give you the directory path so that you can find the files.

Note: The Archie server will not retrieve the file for you (although some special purpose archie-based clients for Windows and Mac systems do allow you to actually retrieve the files, too), but he will respond with the exact location. You can then FTP to that remote host, retrieve the file using anonymous FTP, and transfer it to your computer. Although Archie also performs site searches and file description searches, practically all Archie searches are name searches. In name searches, you supply the name of the file or program you are looking for and Archie tells you where it is located.

To find out if your site supports an Archie client, type archie at your command prompt (or if you have a graphic interface -- search for it on your desktop) -- or ask your Internet support person. If you do not have access to an Archie client program, you can connect to Archie by telnetting to one of several Archie servers accessible via telnet around the U.S. and login as archie (on some systems, you may also be prompted to enter a password -- just use archie again or your email address):

• archie.cs.mcgill.ca
• archie.switch.ch
• archie.rutgers.edu
• archie.th-darmstadt.de

Just open your telnet program and point to one of these sites to initiate an Archie search.

Once you successfully connect to an Archie server, you can design your search parameters by entering one or more of the following basic Archie commands:

• set search sub
  (case insensitive; the broadest type of search)
• set search subcase
  (narrows the search by being case sensitive)
• set search exact
  (used for precise searches when you know exactly how the file is listed and you want to go directly to it)
• set maxhits 10
  (used to limit the number of responses you receive; insert any number you wish, but best to keep it small)
• prog keyword
  (basic Archie search command; type prog followed by your keyword choice to execute a search)
• exit
  (quits you from the query program)

When you have entered your search commands, the Archie server will respond by telling you your position in line (your queue position) and the estimated time it will take to complete your search. When the search results are displayed, they will scroll down the screen without stopping. If you're working from an emulation package that provides a print screen key to print to your local printer, do so periodically as the screens scroll by to record your hits. When you're ready to leave Archie, type exit to quit.

FTP FILE SIZE

For example, if you have access to the World Wide Web, you can read the full texts of several recommended library guides directly from another computer host, so there's little reason to FTP copies to your own system. Remember, many of these guides and other documents are revised on a regular basis and you may find your local version from last month is already out-of-date.

Finally, if you plan to download files frequently from the Net, you should have a good anti-viral program in place. Chances are you will never have to deal with an infected file, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Exercise:

There's a USENET file called Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette. I hear it's funny and I want to get it and read it. Those of you with access to the Web can click on the hot-text above, but let's assume I don't have that option. Using the keywords Emily Postnews, I'll ask Archie to help me find the file. I'll telnet to the Rutgers Archie server at: archie.rutgers.edu, and login as archie, giving my email address as the password. Then, these are the steps I'll follow:

1. At the first Archie prompt, I'll type: set search sub
2. At the second Archie prompt, I'll type: set maxhits 20
3. At the third Archie prompt, I'll type: prog Emily Postnews

   Host ntuix.ntu.ac.sg    (155.69.1.5)
   Last updated 04:30 17 Mar 1997

    Location: /pub/faq/news.announce.newusers
      FILE    -r--r--r--   25592 bytes  12:29  8 Mar 1997  
      Emily_Postnews_Answers_Your_Questions_on_Netiquette


  Host gigaserv.uni-paderborn.de    (131.234.22.34)
  Last updated 15:26 11 Mar 1997

    Location: /ftp/disk5/faq/news/announce/newusers
      FILE    -r--r--r--   25618 bytes  15:45  1 Mar 1997  
      Emily_Postnews_Answers_Your_Questions_on_Netiquette


  Host freebsd.cdrom.com    (165.113.58.253)
  Last updated 15:09 10 Mar 1997

    Location: /.12/internet/rtfm/news/announce/newusers
      FILE    -r--r--r--   25618 bytes  15:45  1 Mar 1997  
      Emily_Postnews_Answers_Your_Questions_on_Netiquette

   (snip, snip ...)

I'll select a likely host, copy down the ftp host address and the file location, quit the Archie connection, FTP to the host in question, follow the ftp path, find the file and transfer it to my computer using the get command.

ARCHIE VIA GOPHER:

ARCHIE VIA EMAIL:

ARCHIE VIA WWW:

Back to Useful Links

hhaub@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
Last updated on September 13, 1999