Where is the server located?
The server machine is physically located in the Computer Systems Lab, L-17A. It is connected to
the College's Internet backbone. The network Internet Protocol (IP) address is
192.197.62.35. The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address is
http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/.
How do I connect to our server?
To connect to our server, an Internet connection is required, either via the College backbone, or
via a dial-up Internet Service Provider (ISP), such as ICAN, Vaxxine, or Sympatico. To view
pages from our server, a graphical web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft
Internet Explorer is recommended.
Who is the Webmaster?
Currently, Mike Boldin, Computer Engineering Technology, is the person who looks after our
web server. To contact Mike, visit his office in L-17, ring his telephone at extension 7400, drop
a note in his mailbox in L-6, or send him e-mail at mboldin@niagarac.on.ca. He's always eager
to hear comments (positive, negative, or otherwise) about our site.
How do I write a web page?
There are several avenues to this end. Netscape Navigator Gold 3.0 and Netscape Communicator
4.0 have built-in web page editors. Both feature the "Netscape Page Wizard", which guides you
step-by-step through creating a web page. Netscape also offers web page templates from their
site, from which you can customize your own page. Or you can create your page from scratch
using their graphical editor.
Another avenue is to use HTML or web page editor software. You can use commerical software such as Microsoft Front Page 97 or Claris Front Page, or obtain shareware/freeware from the web. A good place to find such software is Tucows.
Finally, learn the HTML language and write your pages by hand, using your favorite text editor, such as Brief, Windows Notepad, vi or emacs. This method gives you the most control over the structure of your pages, and can be combined with any or all of the previously-described approaches.
An inexpensive book from which to learn HTML is Writing Web Pages by Maria Canham. It is available in the College Bookstore and provides a solid overview of web page construction, including multimedia.
Finally, using any of the above methods, you do not have to write your pages from scratch everytime. Since HTML documents on the World Wide Web are publicly-accessible, you can find a page whose structure you like, and save it as HTML. (For example, in Netscape Navigator, click on the File menu and select "Save As". The current page will be saved as a text file containing the HTML code. The same can be done with graphics, by clicking the right mouse buttton and selecting "Save Image As").
HTML templates and samples are provided on our web site at: http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/public/samples/
How do I get my pages published?
There are two ways to get your pages published on our server. The first is to deliver the contents
of your page on a diskette to the Webmaster. Pages submitted in this manner will be installed or
updated the same day (usually within an hour or two) of receipt. All HTML files, graphics or
other multimedia files, and any other required files must be submitted.
The second approach is to obtain your own user account on the server. Then you can use standard Internet applications, such as telnet and ftp, to maintain your own page(s). Accounts are created and maintained by the Webmaster. It is hoped that, eventually, every faculty and staff member will have an account.
The Webmaster will ensure that hyperlinks within our site are properly constructed. It is each page author's responsibility to ensure that hyperlinks local to the page or to external sites are functioning properly. Web page content is also the responsibility of the respective author. The Webmaster will not preview, censor or otherwise control content.
Upon installation of a new page, a link will be added to the What's New page: http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/whatsnew.html for a period of two weeks or so.
What is the server configuration?
The server itself is a Pentium-class PC, with 48 MB of RAM and 3 GB of SCSI disk. The current
(as at July 16, 1997) operating system is Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, running Microsoft
Internet Information Server (IIS) 3.0 software.
It is important to note that our site is also an experimental one. As such, the underlying hardware and software will, from time to time, change. View the About Our Server link:http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/about.html
In fact, to improve server accessibility, maintainability, and reliability, we will likely migrate to Linux, a free implementation of the Unix operating system, and to Apache web server software.
What is the structure of the site?
The HTML documents and other files are organized as follows:
top-level-directory (d:\Technology on Windows NT; likely /wwwhome on
Linux)
|
+-----------+---------+-------+--------+---------+---------+
| | | | | | |
cgi-bin/ index.html images/ public/ people/ courses/ students/
| about.html | | | | |
| niagarac.gif | | * index.html
CGI applications powered.gif | | (see below) + directories
(e.g., access counter, ... | | for each student
image mapper, bulletin | |
board applications, etc.) | |
| |
+--------------+--------------+ +---------+--------+-------+ ...
| | | | | | |
index.html images/ video/ index.html images/ mboldin/ jclark/
programs.html | | | | |
cotech.html blueball.gif micro.avi world.jpg | ...
video.html intro.jpg nc160.mov button-h.gif |
... ... ... ... |
|
+----------+-----------+----+
| | |
index.html images/ faq/
guitar.html | |
... MB.gif misc-fitness-faq.txt
fractal-line.gif powerlifting.html
... ...
courses/
|
+--+-------+---------+----------------+-------------------+ ...
| | | | |
index.html images/ comp530/ comp641/ elnc645/
| | | ...
button-h.gif | +---------+--+--------------+ ...
... | | | |
| index.html images c
+--------------+-----+ pos.tar.gz | |
| | jargon.zip winsock.gif pipe.c
index.html images claremont.pdf portmapper.jpg pipetest.c
picprog.zip | onc-rpc.html button-h.gif ...
test.asm bar.gif unzip.exe ...
brbuddy.htm brbuddy.jpg ...
adc0831.doc brbuddy2.jpg
... ...
As you can see, each "page" is in its own directory, with index.html (the main page), its
sub-pages, an images directory, and other related files and/or directories. Only index.html is
mandatory; the images directory is strongly recommended; otherwise, it is up to each page's
author.
Why is index.html required?
index.html is the default document name. It is a security feature provided by most web
server software. Its functionality is twofold: first, the server software will not allow access to a
directory without an index.html document (unless the full URL is specified); second, it allows
URLs of the form: http://machinename.domainname/some-directory/ to be
used. For example, with index.html the URL for Mike Boldin's directory is:
http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mboldin/
If index.html was not present in Mike's directory, using the above URL would cause the server to return Error 403 (Access denied) to the browser. However, the guitar.html file could still be accessed with by specifying its full URL:
http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/mboldin/guitar.html
The default document name can be anything; index.html is probably the most common, and it is what we have chosen to use.
Can I use long filenames?
Yes. Both Windows NT and Linux support long filenames, as will any subsequent server
operating system that we choose to install.
Windows NT is case-retentive but not case-sensitive; that is, you can name your files with mixed case, but access them with all lowercase, all uppercase, or a combination of the two.
Linux, like most Unix operating systems, is truly case-sensitive.
A good rule of thumb to follow is to use unique filenames, and use the proper spelling of filenames (with regard to case) in your HTML code. For example, if the name of a graphics file is myValuableFace.gif, the HTML code to display this file should be:
<img src="images/myValuableFace.gif">
Which file extensions should I use?
The following extensions are strongly recommended:
If you would like to write your own, the most common programming languages to use are C and Perl.
Please contact the Webmaster to install your own CGI applications or those you download from the World Wide Web. CGI applications must be installed in the /cgi-bin directory.
What if I want to create or install Java applets?
Java applets can be installed in your personal or course directories. Since Java is portable across
different architectures, you can compile your Java applet under, say, Windows 95 or OS/2 Warp,
and run them under Linux or Windows NT without recompiling. Simply install the .class files
that you need. Check the samples page on our site for Java applets that are already installed:
http://www.technology.niagarac.on.ca/public/samples/
How do I maintain my own web pages?
Currently, under Windows NT, the procedure is somewhat arcane.
First, you must obtain a user account from the Webmaster.
Second, you must transfer your files to the server via FTP. Since IIS 3.0 does not readily support FTP directly to your "home" directory, you must use a shared upload directory. This directory is named /w3-upload under the FTP service; it is mapped to e:\uploads.
Third, you connect to the server using the Telnet service. Windows NT does not ship with a Telnet server, so we are using third-party software. Telnet to either the IP address (192.197.62.35) or to the hostname, www.technology.niagarac.on.ca. If you receive an error that the server software has expired, please contact the Webmaster. Otherwise, if you are successful, you will be placed in your home directory (for example, d:\Technology\people\mboldin). From here, you may move your files from e:\uploads to your home directory or to your course directories.
For example, a sample session might look as follows:
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