Second Edition now available!World Wide Web (WWW) sites have been blossoming at an astounding rate, with good reason; WWW technology has proven extraordinarily effective at creating a flexible, interactive, and graphic medium for sharing all kinds of information over the Internet. Here in one concise volume you will find all of the essential information needed to create and maintain a World Wide Web site. Following every stage of the process, this book covers all aspects of WWW server design, setup, and maintenance, including: *finding, compiling, installing, and configuring the appropriate web server software, *understanding the ins and outs of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), *creating hypertext documents with Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), *converting existing documents to hypertext, *working with graphics, sound, and video, *incorporating executable programs that run such features as searchable indexes, *fill-out forms, clickable maps, and gateways to other services, and *writing server scripts to create dynamic documents.In addition, an entire chapter focuses on security, pointing out the risks inherent in a WWW site and how to protect your site from these dangers without hampering its smooth operation. Most importantly, the book's illustrated Style Guide shows you how to put all of this information together to design a fully functioning web site that balances your desire for eye-catching graphics with the practical need for speedy performance. "This is an excellent book (How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) and thorough primer for anyone pondering the mysteries of Web publishing. After reading this book, the mysteries are revealed and the reader is well on his way to setting up shop on the Web." - Computer Life "When the Internet hit the mainstream, the flood of 'how to' books left new and old Internet users baffled by hundreds of mostly redundant titles.The same torrent promises to follow the popularity of the World Wide Web, but Lincoln Stein has done all of us an immense service by writing the definitive guide to Web weaving before the deluge - a clear, complete, and hype-free book (How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) which anyone who wants to set up a Web site (or just understand how a Web site works) should read." - Lyman Chapin, Chief Network Architect, BBN Systems and Technologies "The first how-to book (How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) of substance that I was unable to put down." - Todd Flaming, Coordinator, Chicago Computer Society Downtown Internet SIG "How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site provides concise and complete instructions for installation and administration of the most popular WWW servers, as well as detailed explanations of HTML authoring and stylistic recommendations. It serves as a valuable desk reference for administration personnel and HTML authors by providing necessary information in an easy-to-use guide that allows one to painlessly utilize today's WWW technology for distribution of information." - Mark T.Ellis, Development Manager, Reuters "This (How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) is the first and the last World Wide Web book that you will ever need. Period!" - Robert M. Fleischman, Systems Engineer and Web Specialist, BBN Systems and Technologies "This book (How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) is useful for anyone with any level of interest in the WWW phenomenon. Whether you are an individual interested in authoring your own home page, an administrator interested in setting up a secure WWW server, or even just a bystander interested in 'how it works,' this is the book for you." - Mukesh Kacker, Internet Engineering, Sun Microsystems Inc. (SunSoft) "For too long, learning how to operate a World Wide Web site was like learning how to drive without a teacher; there are lots of mysterious knobs and levers, and an owner's manual that assumes you know what you're doing. Lincoln Stein has written a book (How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) that explains how to start the engine, back out of the driveway, and merge onto the Information Superhighway as an information provider, not just an information consumer." - Win Treese, Open Market, Inc."In a maze of half-baked WWW books, this one (How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) stands out, because it covers the important topics in detail and is written by someone with hands-on experience. It contains excellent details with examples on writing CGI scripts, implementing security, and configuring CERN and NCSA httpd servers for various needs. In addition to the usual information on tables and HTML3, the book contains references on proxy servers, HTTP headers, HTML escape codes, and MIME types, providing valuable resource for every webmaster." - Vasanthan S. Dasan, Rocky Mountain Technology Center, Sun Microsystems Inc. "This (How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) is an engaging combination of technically relevant topics, resources, and examples with practical guidance for both designers and implementers of Web services." - Anthony J. Zawilski, Lead Systems Architect, The MITRE Corporation "Using the chapters (of How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) as a text, I have downloaded and configured the NCSA HTTPD server. It's now up and running, and we have begun putting our home pages out there.Basically, I just followed the instructions, one after another." - Charles Slater, J.W. Pepper & Son, Inc. "Decidedly UNIX-based (and proud of it), Stein has written a text (How to Set Up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site) which delves into Web operation, installation and configuration procedures, security, creation of hypertext documents, and working with and creating Server scripts, all presented in an extremely readable style...This book will be an excellent asset and resource for anyone working with the administration of the Internet and the World Wide Web in particular." - Sys Admin 0201633892B04062001

Table of Contents:
Preface. 1. Introduction to the Web. A Little History. Guided Tour. Key Concepts. What Can You Do with the Web? Creating the Document and Server Root Directories. Creating a Web Site. Allocating Responsibility. Doing Business Over the Web. 2. Unraveling the Web: How It All Works. Network Basics. Uniform Resource Locators. The MIME Typing System. The HTTP Protocol. 3. Installing and Configuring a Web Server. Preparing Your Site. A Choice of Servers. Servers on Non-Unix Platforms. Obtaining and Installing the NCSA and CERN Servers. Creating the Web Directories. NCSA httpd. The CERN Server. Starting the Server at Boot Time. Managing Log Files. Publicizing Your Site. 4. Security. Planning the Security at Your Site. Basic Security Measures. Introduction to Web Server Built-in Access Control Facilities. Configuring Access Control: The Basics. NCSA httpd: Controlling Directory Access. The CERN Server: Controlling Directory Access. Running a Web Server with a Firewall. Configuring the CERN Server to Act as a Proxy. Running in a Change Root Environment. 5. Creating Hypertext Documents. Some Background. Basic HTML Tags. Creating Hypertext Links. Creating In-Line Images. Advanced Text Formatting. Creating Lists. Specifying Text Styles. Special Characters. Miscellaneous HTML Tags. Tags for Defining Fill-Out Forms. Putting It All Together. Extended HTML Tags Used by Netscape Navigator. Maintaining Compatibility with HTML 3. 6. Software Tools for Text, Graphics, Sound, and Video. HTML Editor. HTML Syntax Checkers. Converting Other Text Formats into HTML. Using Graphics in Your Pages. Using Sound in Your Pages. Using Video in Your Pages. 7. A Web Style Guide. Lost in Hyperspace. Making the Most of Your Pages. Optimizing Performance. Clickable Image Maps: Uses and Abuses. Testing Your Pages. Managing a Changing Site. Mirroring Other Sites. The Web and Copyrights. 8. Working with Server Scripts. Script Basics. Communicating with Scripts. Creating Clickable Image Maps. Gateways to Other Services. Fast Text-Based Searching for Documents at Your Site. Other Getaway Scripts. Simple Scripting with Server-Side Includes in NCSA httpd. 9. Writing Server Scripts. Introduction. Basic Scripts. Retrieving Server and Browser Information from Within Scripts. Writing Safe Scripts. A Generic Script Template. A Form for Sending in Comments. A Picture Database Search Script. Preserving State Information Between Invocations of a Script. Returning Nontext Documents from Scripts. Issuing HTTP Status Codes with No-Parse-Headers Scripts. Writing a Script to Start a Time-Consuming Task in the Background. Appendices. A. Resource Guide. B. Escape Codes. C. Configuring NCSA httpd to Use Public-Key Cryptography. Index. 0201633892T04062001