Lynx

Lynx is a fully-featured World Wide Web (WWW) text based client (essentially a text only browser) and can be useful to quickly check out a few sites or read manuals on frink.

It will display hypertext markup language (HTML) documents containing links to files residing on the local system, as well as files residing on remote systems running Gopher, HTTP, FTP, WAIS, and NNTP servers.

Lynx doesn't support frames. Try this on the command line:

$ lynx http://www.compsoc.nuigalway.ie
# will launch lynx from the command line and bring you directly to the CompSoc website

When lynx is launched, you can go to a new website by typing 'g' followed by the URL of the site you want to visit (e.g. 'g' and then enter 'google.com').

As well as being used to access information on the World Wide Web, Lynx can also be used to build information systems intended primarily for local access. For example, Lynx has been used to build several Campus Wide Information Systems (CWIS). In addition, Lynx can be used to build systems isolated within a single LAN.

More help can be found by typing man lynx into the command line or by hitting [Esc] and selecting help from the menu.

Lynx is for users running cursor-addressable, character-cell display devices (e.g. vt100 terminals, vt100 emulators running on Windows 95/NT or Macintoshes, or any other "curses-oriented" display). Current versions of Lynx run on Unix, VMS, Windows 95/NT, 386DOS and OS/2 EMX.

Next we'll have a look at another text browser, w3m.