WWW Browser Software (Netscape, Mosaic, etc.)
Word Processor (Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Simple Text)
Graphics Software (Illustrator, Freehand, Photoshop, Corel Draw)
Server Software (MacHTTP, WebStar, etc.)
This language of the World-Wide-Web has been written in stages with three major versions (1.0-3.0) and is still under development. WWW server software can send ALL versions to the client so you need not worry too much about versions. The browser being used by the client determines how much or how little of the newest version technology can be shown to the client user. The language is simply text in a text file, so HTML is platform-independent. Since HTML is platform-independent, you must not insert spaces into filenames and foldernames. The use of the underline (_) in these names is permitted, however.
Your home page is a text file, and usually with the filename: default.html. It should ultimately reside in the folder (subdirectory) that contains your server software (MacHTTP or equivalent).
The text in the textfile is mostly letters to be displayed on the browser's screen. The appearance of that text is determined by HTML tags that direct, in a relative way, what is shown by the browser. All HTML tags have an opening and a closing. For example, words to be placed in bold type are preceded by a open tag <b> and followed by an end tag </b>. An example is:
This <b>word</b> is in <b>bold type</b>.
appears as:
This word is in bold type.
The home page can be simple (and crude) or complex (=meeting "standards" for HTML). To meet standards, the file has this basic structure:
|
<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Title to Appear On the Page Goes Here</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> Most of the Page Fits Here </BODY> </HTML> |
Your goal will be to replace "Title to Appear On the Page Goes Here" with your own title, and "Most of the Page Fits Here" with the information you are trying to serve to the World Wide Web. To do this you will need to know more about HTML.
My other pages can get you started with this, but for now, here are two helpful sites to check out:
A great on-line resource for HTML designers
You can also learn a lot about HTML by looking at other people's html text. If you are browsing a page that has some neat trick on it, select Source from the View menubar command. This will open up the source code in your word processor (set under Options) so you can see what was actually sent from the server to your client. Studying the code can be very useful in learning tricks of the trade. You can save the captured code directly to your hard-drive.
If you do not want to or cannot create your own graphics, you can "steal" them from the internet! If you are browsing a page with a graphic you like on it, click and hold down the mouse button on the image. A pop-up menu will allow you to save a copy of that image to your hard drive! Now you can write a tag to display it or make it a clickable element of your own page. At present there is a lot of exchange of this type. Materials put on the internet have so far been considered "public domain."
It is probably time for you to learn some more and refine your page. Collect URLs and add them as links from your page. Add graphics. Add more pages. Revise the links again. It is a continuous process of refinement.
Most importantly, though, you want your pages to be seen...
You can make your microcomputer a WWW server by installing the right software. For the Macintosh platform, MacHTTP is put in the same folder as your default.html page and launched...it is that simple!
To name your server, send a memo to your local sysop or internet provider (for ECSU this is Tim Hilbie Hilbie@csusys.ctstateu.edu) including your server's IP address and the name you want. The required syntax at ECSU is: servername.ecsu.ctstateu.edu. Then put your server's URL on your signature file for e mail (you ARE using Eudora or equivalent, right?). If you are at ECSU, be sure to send Steve Frazier (fraziers) your URL so it can be linked to the ECSU home page.
If you don't want to leave your computer running day-and-night for server duty (and connected to your provider $$$), you can have your file moved onto the server of your internet provider. At ECSU your home page can be put on the ECSU server. The re-editing advantages of serving from your own machine are important, however.
Good Luck!
ross koning
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