The paper outlines a model for an all-optical gate and presents results concerning its static and dynamic characteristics. The gate is an inhomogeneously pumped travelling wave amplifier operating with an optical information signal and an optical control signal. Optical gates with two and three homogeneously pumped regions are analysed. The model takes into account the longitudinal variation of photon flux and carrier density, and adopts a multiwavelength approach to consideration of the optical pumping due to spontaneous emission. It is extended to consider also the switching characteristics with applied electrical pulses. Criteria are introduced for the evaluation of the device performance, and, through numerical simulations, the trade-off between the desired static and dynamic characteristics is shown. It is found that, although the switch-on time can be strongly enhanced, the switch-off time is limited by the dynamics of the free carriers for the all-optical operation. Finally, it is verified that electrical switching can substantially improve the performance for the switch-off transient.