Fairleigh Dickinson University  Fairleigh Dickinson University · model website · web magazine · help

 
 
 

Who are we?

  • name and department
  • usual computer and operating system
  • experience in web browsing
  • experience in web authoring
  • web authoring plans

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    Cooking Up Web Pages on alpha.fdu.edu

    Goals of workshop

  • review Internet fundamentals
  • teach web page fundamentals
  • demonstrate value of web page templates
  • road-test instructions for alpha.fdu.edu
  • identify need(s) for more advanced courses

    • Ingredients

  • userid and privileges on alpha.fdu.edu
  • client-side software: telnet, ftp, web browser, web authoring
  • text
  • context: pages that users will come from and go to
  • a presumed audience on the web
  • one or more graphics 

    • Steps

    Once in your life: 
    1.  Determine whether multiple directories are needed 
    2.  "Turn on" web hosting using install_html 

    The first time you use a given personal computer as your web authoring workstation: 
    1.  If you have a web site, download its contents to the computer 
    2.  If you don't have a web site, download the model website at www.fdu.edu/webresources/modelwebsite 

    Every time you are a web author: 
    1.  Develop ideas 
    2.  Assemble all ingredients 
    3.  Create one or more pages using Netscape Composer or other authoring tool 
    4.  Alter any affected pre-existing pages 
    5.  Capture or create graphics 
    6.  Transfer files to alpha using File Transfer Protocol 
    7.  Test access to web pages; troubleshoot 
    8.  Run quality control tests, e.g. Dr. HTML 
    9.  Submit page to search engines, e.g. Submit-it; Altavista 
     
    .

    Internet fundamentals

  • Internet is a network of networks of computers; virtually every aspect is decentralized. 
  • Any computer with an access provider may participate; FDU plays the role of access provider. 
  • Every computer has a unique numeric identifier (IP number) and a unique name (hostname); (run perlver to see your IP number). 
  • Every computer can participate as a client (requester), as a server (provider), or as both.
  • Protocol (e.g. telnet, ftp, http) determines nature of the interaction between a client and a server.
  • Web pages are created using HyperText Markup Language (HTML); browser software executing on a client displays web pages according to HTML rules
  • Each web page has a URL: protocol://hostname.domain/optional path/filename.extension; the web page you are reading is http://www.fdu.edu/webresources/cooking/index.html
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    Note: The alpha.fdu.edu server will act in three different roles for us: as telnet server, to run the install_html program; as FTP server, to let us upload our HTML-based web pages; and then as web server, to let us and others access our web pages. 

    The messy part


    (Example 1) Actual file on alpha.fdu.edu: 
    /home/community/username/public_html/index.html 
    where community = faculty, student, alumni, or staff; and username is a unique, assigned user id 

    Can be viewed on the web as: 
    http://alpha.fdu.edu/~username 
    http://alpha.fdu.edu/~username/ 
    http://alpha.fdu.edu/~username/index.html 
     
    Can be found under telnet by: 
  • logging in as username 
  • cd public_html 
  • ls
    		•  Can be found under ftp by: 
  • logging in as username 
  • cd public_html 
  • dir
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    (Example 2) Actual file on alpha.fdu.edu: 
    /home/community/username/public_html/anyfile.ext 
    where community = faculty, student, alumni, or staff; username is a unique, assigned user id, and anyfile.ext is a file other than index.html 

    Can be viewed on the web as: 
    http://alpha.fdu.edu/~username/anyfile.ext 
     
    Can be found under telnet by: 
  • logging in as username 
  • cd public_html 
  • ls
    		•  Can be found under ftp by: 
  • logging in as username 
  • cd public_html 
  • dir
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    Starting telnet in Win95: 
  • start button
  • run
  • type in telnet
  • click OK

    •  
     

    Telnet to turn on web hosting in your directory

    Start telnet software (see at left) 
    open alpha.fdu.edu 
    login with username and password 
    install_html 
    spacebar to see remainder of output 
    Y (yes) when asked continue? 
    logout  
     
    .

    Telnet commands 

    command description
    install_html prepare directory for web pages
    passwd change your password on alpha.fdu.edu
    cd path make different directory active at server (remember slashes are /)
    ls list files and subdirectories of active directory at server
    vquota find out how much of filespace quota is used
    chmod 755 . set security level for directory at server
    chmod 644 filename set security level for file at server
     
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    Creating a web page

  • Choose or create a working directory on your browser system
  • Open Netscape Navigator
  • Open http://www.fdu.edu/webresources/modelwebsite/empty.html or other template
  • File - Edit Document - Save As
  • Be sure to give the new local file a name other than empty.html
  • Change any template characteristics you want to change
  • Capture or invent page contents (Often this will mean opening word processing or other application in another window) 
  • Save local file in working directory
  • File - Open File in Browser - give name of your file (to view local copy of file before uploading)

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    Starting FTP in Win95: 
  • start button
  • run
  • type in ftp
  • click OK

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    Uploading using FTP

  • Start FTP software (see at left)
  • open alpha.fdu.edu
  • login with username and password
  • lcd   local working directory
  • cd public_html
  • put name of file
  • rename name of file index.html
  • reopen Netscape Navigator to test access to http://alpha.fdu.edu/~username
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    .

    FTP commands

    command description
    open servername open connection to server
    lcd path make different directory active at client (remember slashes are \)
    cd path make different directory active at server (remember slashes are /)
    lcd .  or  lpwd tell what directory is active at client
    pwd tell what directory is active at server
    dir list files and subdirectories of active directory at server
    (use Windows File Manager or Explorer) list files and subdirectories of active directory at client
    mkdir make a new subdirectory in the active directory at server (but don't make the new subdirectory active)
    (use Windows File Manager or Explorer) make a new subdirectory at client
    put filename copy file from client's active directory, store it in server's active directory, overwriting same named file if any
    get filename copy file from server's active directory, store it in client's active directory, overwriting same named file if any
    binary prepare to transfer graphics or other non-ASCII (non-text) files
    ascii prepare to transfer html or other ASCII (text) files
    rename oldname.ext newname.ext change name of a file in active directory at server 
    (use Windows File Manager or Explorer) change name of a file in active directory at client
    disconnect close connection to server; stay in FTP
    bye close connection to server and leave FTP
     
    fat border  
     
    fat spacing  
     
    fat padding  
     

    Refining and enhancing web page(s)

  • Setting page or document properties
  • Cutting and pasting (authoring tool is a word processor)
  • Inserting targets and internal links 
  • Inserting external links
  • Inserting email link
  • Inserting horizontal rules
  • Altering fonts and colors 
  • Inserting tables within tables (see examples at left) 
  • Inserting graphics (in line, as background, standalone)
  • Resizing graphics
  • Subdividing a page into several pages 

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    Graphics without graphics 

  • a little calendar 
  • a spectrum of text 
  • small caps and color-bar effects 
  • letter highlights 

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    Working tips

  • Be sure you are aware of the settings (screen size, background color) of your development environment, and how these compare to those of your target audience. 
  • Use only lower case letters in file and directory names, even tho' Win95 will sometimes make this difficult.  Note that www.fdu.edu/webresources and WWW.FDU.EDU/webresources are the same, but www.fdu.edu/webresources and www.fdu.edu/Webresources are different.
  • Settle on html OR htm as the extension for your HTML files. Either is fine; a mixture of the two is troublesome. Note that on alpha.fdu.edu your default file in each directory MUST be index.html
  • Maintain local directory that mirrors the public_html directory perfectly.
  • Save your work often, especially when using tables. 
  • Get comfortable with Windows (if not already) so that you can work with multiple windows (e.g. ftp, authoring tool, browsing tool) open at once.
  • Overwrite a file only when immensely confident that it is no longer needed.  Otherwise make a new version and clean up later.
  • Open other people's web pages in your authoring tool to see how they did it.
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    Fairleigh Dickinson University  Fairleigh Dickinson University · web magazine · help