Basic methodology for creating web pages using Windows on our Unix Machines
This method assumes that you are running Windows, writing your pages using Notepad, and publishing your pages using a standard ftp program. It also assumes that you are running it from your own machine connected to the internet. If you are working in T-488 there is a simpler method of doing it.
I recommend that you store all your files on your own computer in the same place. If you do page development on several computers, then you could use a USB flash drive or floppy and keep the information on it. Flash drives are also handy if you want to bring your work to class or to my office before putting it on your web site. I store my files in a folder in My Documents and put a shortcut to it on my quick launch toolbar.
Page Development Steps
- Open Notepad++ (or whatever program that you will use to type web pages) and load the file you are working with. If you wish you can use notpad and open several instances of it to make several files available.
- Open your ftp program and set its source directory to the place where your files are located. Set it's destination directory to server2.cs.uofs.edu and the public_html directory of your account.
- You probably wont need to do the following except on a few occasions: Open a telent client and log on to your account on the computer science department's servers in case you need to modify the environment in which your files are located.
- Open two instances of at least one web browser to test your work. One of them will be used to check the web page while it is still on your computer and the other one to check it when you have it published to the web.
- Perform each of the following until you are finished
- Each time you do something to your web page, save it to your space on your computer.
- Load the copy into one of the instances of your browser to see if it looks right. If it does then...
- FTP a copy of it to your web site in ASCII format, and
- Load it into the other copy of your browser to check the work
- If your page contains images, video or sound, those files should also be FTPed to the server. However, picture and sound files should be copied as BINARY files and pages should be copied as ASCII files.