simple question (I hope!)

[Rob]

I'm trying to develop my own website.

I tried using html editors, but I find that building html files gives
me the control I need. So my platform is Windows XP, my
editor is emacs and I use IE7. I DO NOT run MS IIS on my
development platform. REPEAT: I work directly in html.

I am able to use cascading style sheets effectively. (Still a lot
to learn.)

However, when I use Server Side Includes, nothing happens.
In particular, an entry like
<!--#include virtual="myfile.ssi">
does not result in myfile.ss being included in the rendered page.

Is this because I really do not have a server?
In other words, if I point my browser at a local file (say
C:/mywebsite/index.html), that file is interpreted by IE7, is it true
that the "server side" directives are never processed?

Is there a workaround short of installing MS IIS?

I appreciate any help here. I have to develop on my platform, but
the inability to use included files means that changes to common
elements means changing them on every webpage where they
occur. Very inefficient.

Thanks in advance.

 

[freemont]

However, when I use Server Side Includes, nothing happens.

Is this because I really do not have a server?

heheh, yep, that's the ticket. You have to either have a server there at
home to host the files or else upload the files to a server that supports
includes.

 

[Rob]

Thank you.

heheh, yep, that's the ticket. You have to either have a server there at
home to host the files or else upload the files to a server that supports
includes.

 

[wayne]

> Thank you.
>

You can install Apache (a web server) on your home computer. This link
has some information and a Google search will supply all the information
you could possibly want

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/windows.html

--
Wayne
http://www.glenmeadows.us
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things
and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil
things, that takes religion.
—Steven Weinberg

 

[Toby Inkster]

You can install Apache (a web server) on your home computer. This link
has some information and a Google search will supply all the information
you could possibly want

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/windows.html

Apache 1.2 is an old version (though many people doe still use it). The
current stable line is 2.2, with 2.3 in development.

As the OP is using Windows XP, I'd certainly recommend using 2.x, as these
newer versions include many speed and stability enhancements on non-Unix
platforms. (Which is not to say that it is slow and unstable on Unix --
it has *always* performed well on Unix... the 2.x releases just "catch up"
the other supported operating systems.)

 

[Bergamot]

As the OP is using Windows XP,

What the OP has on his own PC isn't relevant. He should install whatever
web server his hosting service uses so he can mirror it locally.

Installing Apache locally won't be very beneficial if the remote server
is running IIS.

 

[Toby Inkster]

Installing Apache locally won't be very beneficial if the remote server
is running IIS.

Basic SSI (which the OP was attempting) works pretty much the same on most
web servers, so if a simple environment for testing SSI is all that's
reqired, Apache should be fine.

 

[wayne]

Apache 1.2 is an old version (though many people doe still use it). The
current stable line is 2.2, with 2.3 in development.

As the OP is using Windows XP, I'd certainly recommend using 2.x, as these
newer versions include many speed and stability enhancements on non-Unix
platforms. (Which is not to say that it is slow and unstable on Unix --
it has *always* performed well on Unix... the 2.x releases just "catch up"
the other supported operating systems.)

Thank you. I did a Google on Apache and copied the first hit. Perhaps
I should have done a little more research! As I use Linux, I have
Apache installed too. I don't pay very much attention to the revision
level as my OS upgrades packages automatically.

Regards,

--
Wayne
http://www.glenmeadows.us
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things
and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil
things, that takes religion.
—Steven Weinberg

 

[Rob]

Inkster had it right -- I just need this so I can develop at home
for later upload. Standardization should make my modest server side
directives workable in both places.

I got IIS5.1 up-and-running yesterday. Not much fun because the whole
focus is on generalized web hosting, while the old PWS (Personal Web
Server) functionality would have been sufficient for my needs.

I'm not a big MS fan, and I appreciate the efforts that have gone into
open source replacements for clumsy MS tools. In this case, IIS was
the easiest path.

Now for another exciting question:
Can someone point me to a useful source for information on organizing
the files of an approximately 80-page website?
I've seen lots of guides on css, but nothing on the simple problem of
organizing the files to make relative referencing and uploading
straightforward.

Thank you in advance. I respect the "tone" of this group -- honest
disagreement without being disagreeable.

Rob

 

[Toby Inkster]

I'm not a big MS fan, and I appreciate the efforts that have gone into
open source replacements for clumsy MS tools. In this case, IIS was
the easiest path.

Apache's not an open source "replacement" for IIS -- Apache's first
release actually predated IIS 1.0 by about two months.

 

[dorayme]

Now for another exciting question:
Can someone point me to a useful source for information on organizing
the files of an approximately 80-page website?
I've seen lots of guides on css, but nothing on the simple problem of
organizing the files to make relative referencing and uploading
straightforward.

A lot depends on your site's details but may I suggest a simple
scheme: index file and any html page that are "stand-alones" -
not part of multi-page sections - at the top level. Pic or other
resource folders at the top level too: to be used for the top
level pages. You can have a main css file loose at top level too
(if you really have a lot of them, perhaps a folder for them).
The idea is that the top level contains all the top level files
and resources

Folders for the rest, the scheme for inside folders following the
previous advice. Very simple to manage. You can have a hundred
different ways and all will have their strengths and weaknesses
and what you save time on one way, you can lose in another way. I
recommend you start with a simple scheme like above and modify to
suit yourself. Don't waste time studying everyone's pet scheme.