Support > Web Development > Common Topics

Common Topics
Web Page Authoring Topics
Telnet Access Topics
GW Extranet Calendaring
Student Organizations

 

Things to consider before building a web page

Before you begin to create your web page on your Auburn account, you have to make a few decisions.

First, will you be working on it in the OIT Computing Labs or from home? If you are in the OIT Computing Labs, you will want to read the page with specific instructions on web authoring in the labs. If you are not in the labs, the instructions on web authoring from home are for you.

Second, you must know how you will edit your Web page. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the language of Web pages. Web pages, from the very simple to the complex, are created by inserting HTML "tags" within a text document. The tags tell the web browser how the page should look on your screen. If you select "Source" from the View menu in your web browser, you will see what HTML codes look like: They are set off from the text of the document by angle <brackets>.

You don't have to know HTML, however, to build a Web page. OIT-supported Microsoft Expression Web is one among several HTML editors that build coded pages in a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) environment. If you're ready to start building a web page, select one of the options below:

How-to: Creating a web page in OIT Computing Labs
How-to: Creating a web page outside OIT Computing Labs

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Hosting Options: UNIX and Windows

The Office of Information Technology hosts web pages for Auburn University employees and graduate students on two types of servers: UNIX (OIT Sun Network) and Windows. Undergraduate students only have access to the OIT Sun Network (in the computing labs, this is the P: drive).

The UNIX server on the OIT Sun Network, also known as Mallard, hosts most of the web pages at Auburn, including the www.auburn.edu web site. You should request web space on this server if you simply need to post HTML or PHP pages. Employees can request space on Mallard by contacting your Administrative Computing Coordinator. Once your personal web space has been activated, you can view your web content at the following address: http://www.auburn.edu/~username, where "username" is your AU User Name.

The Windows server (formerly known as the FrontPage server) hosts pages requiring special access restriction, scripting, or SQL database interactivity. You may prefer to host your website on this server if you are a graduate student or employee who wants to use Expression Web or Visual Studio (both free to install and use under the Microsoft Cam pus Agreement). To request a new subweb, please let us know the web name that you would like (for individual webs, the url is https://fp.auburn.edu/username where username is your User Name; departments and organizations choose an appropriate abbreviation or alias). Send your request to frontpg@auburn.edu.

The web address for personal web pages on the FrontPage server is formatted as: https://fp.auburn.edu/username (no tilda).

The chart below may help you decide which server best meets your needs. The UNIX server is the best choice for most users.

Server Feature Comparison:

Features UNIX
auburn.edu		 Windows
fp.auburn.edu
Secure HTTPS capability • •
Server-side includes • •
PHP •
VB.NET, C#, ASP, VB   •
ASP.NET Framework •
ASP.NET AJAX •
MySQL (v. 3.23.49) •
SQL (v. 7)   •
Backed up nightly • •

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Personal pages at AU

Personal Web pages on the OIT Sun Network
Any student or employee who has an AU User Name and password may create personal Web pages on the OIT Sun Network. One hundred megabytes of directory and file space are allotted for each AU User Name.

To begin setting up a web page, see Creating a webpage in the OIT Computing Labs. The URL or address uses this format:

http://www.auburn.edu/~username/


where username is the AU User Name.

If you have a home page on the OIT Sun Network, then your University Directory listing includes a link to it labeled Web Page URL. Student home page URLS are listed in the Directory.

If you don't have a home page on the OIT Sun Network, then the Web Page URL link on your Directory listing goes to a page with a message to that effect.

Personal Web pages on other servers
In addition to those on the OIT Sun Network, some Auburn University schools and colleges, such as Agriculture, Engineering and Veterinary Medicine, provide Web hosting services and lists of links to personal home pages on their own servers. There is a list of links to American University home pages at http://www.clas.ufl.edu/CLAS/american-universities.html.

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Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) at AU

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a World-Wide Web address on the Internet. To view a Web page, enter its URL in the Address (location) field of a Web browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer. Most URLs begin with http (hyper text transfer protocol), and most web browsers use this as a default, so that you don't have to type in the http:// portion of the URL. The URL for Auburn University's Web page is http://www.auburn.edu. Most AU schools, colleges, departments, administrative offices, and organizations have URLs that begin the same way; these pages are located on the OIT Sun Network named mallard.auburn.edu. There are also dozens of other servers with different URLs for official and unofficial Auburn University Web pages. Some of these include:

http://aos.auburn.edu (Auburn Online Services)
http://auinst.duc.auburn.edu (AU Install)
http://webct.auburn.edu/toolkit/pgLogin.aspx (WebCT Toolkit)
http://www.aces.edu/ (Alabama Cooperative Extension System)
http://www.alumni.auburn.edu (Alumni, Development & University Relations)
http://www.ag.auburn.edu (College of Agriculture)

http://www.cadc.auburn.edu (College of Architecture, Design, and Construction)
http://www.eng.auburn.edu (College of Engineering)
https://fp.auburn.edu (OIT Windows web server)
http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu (College of Veterinary Medicine)
http://www.grad.auburn.edu (Graduate School)
http://www.forestry.auburn.edu (School of Forestry)
http://pharmacy.auburn.edu (School of Pharmacy)
http://www.univrel.auburn.edu (University Relations)

All of the above URLs are accessible via clickable links from the AU home page and via the AU Search engine, so people don't have to type in the URLs to find these pages.

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How much web space do I have on my Auburn account?

All AU students have 100 megabytes of web space.

To check how much space you've used already, open SecureCRT and log in using your AU User Name and password, and then type in the following command:

  quota -v

Disk Quota

On the information that appears, usage is how much space you've used.

Common Topic: What is SSH?
How-to: Connecting to the OIT Sun Network with SecureCRT

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What other web page building Internet resources are available?

The Internet is populated with literally thousands of tutorials for web page building alone. We've gathered a few helpful links to help you create your web page.

Web Page Design

Scripting & Coding

Software Support

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Basic web page coding (HTML)

HTML stands for the HyperText Markup Language. HTML is the major language of the Internet's World Wide Web. Web sites and web pages are written in HTML. With HTML and the World Wide Web, you have the ability to bring together text, pictures, sounds, and links... all in one place! HTML files are plain text files, so they can be composed and edited on any type of computer... Windows, Mac, UNIX, whatever.

You don't have to know know HTML to create web pages. There are numerous HTML editors that use a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface to write HTML for you.

Internet Resource: W3Schools.org : HTML Tutorial
Internet Resource: W3Schools.org : Listing of HTML Tags
Common Topic: Popular web page editing software

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Popular web page editing software

To create web pages more quickly and easily, plus without having to learn HTML, you can use a web page editor or HTML editor.

The first choice for a AU student that is readily available is Microsoft Expression Web. This program is available for use in all of the OIT Computing Labs located around campus and supported by OIT. Employees can install and use Microsoft Expression Web free under the Microsoft Campus Agreement.

Another popular web page editing program is Macromedia Dreamweaver. Also another software package for purchase, Dreamweaver can be bought at special student pricing through the AU Bookstore.

An alternative to paying for editing software is to download free or trial versions.

Internet Resource: Download.com : Listing of HTML editing software
Common Topic: Basic web page coding (HTML)

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Cascading Style Sheets and their uses

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are a breakthrough in Web design because it allows developers to control the style and layout of multiple Web pages all at once. As a Web developer you can define a style for each HTML element and apply it to as many Web pages as you want. To make a global change, simply change the style, and all elements in the Web are updated automatically.

Internet Resource: W3Schools.org : Cascading Style Sheets Tutorial

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PHP scripting and its uses

PHP is a scripting language and interpreter, similar to JavaScript and Microsoft's VBScript. PHP (the initials come from the earliest version of the program, which was called "Personal Home Page Tools") is a cross-platform alternative to Microsoft's Active Server Page (ASP) technology (which runs only on Microsoft's Windows NT servers).

As with ASP, the PHP script is embedded within a Web page along with its HTML. Before the page is sent to a user that has requested it, the Web server calls PHP to interpret and perform the operations called for in the PHP script.

A HTML page that includes a PHP script is typically given a file name suffix of ".php" or ".phtml". Like ASP, PHP can be thought of as "dynamic HTML pages," since content will vary based on the results of interpreting the script. PHP is free and offered under an open source license.

PHP can be used for a variety of web site features, including visitor counters, guestbooks, surveys, web forms, and more.

How-to: Writing and using PHP scripts
Common Topic: Requesting a mySQL database
How-to: Accessing a mySQL database

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What is a .htaccess file?

A .htaccess file controls web access for directories on the OIT Sun Network. You can use it to customize several aspects of the way your web page is presented. For example, you can restrict access to particular directories by implementing a password feature for them.

Note: Do not try this until you are familiar with the basics of maintaining your Auburn University web page and using UNIX for managing files and setting permissions.

How-to: Setup a .htaccess file

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File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP software allows you to copy files from one computer to another. Using FTP, you can transfer files to another machine down the hall or around the world. Most students use this feature to transfer data from a PC to an OIT Sun server -- for example, sending an HTML file created in a computing lab to their AU home page.

FTP is available in all of the OIT computing labs. Your file space on the server is mapped to drive (H:), and you can transfer files by simply saving them to drive H.

If you are moving files to drive (P:) for your Web page , you may also need to connect to the OIT Sun Network using SecureCRT and reset the file permissions before the file is viewable by the web browser. If you FTP the file to your public_html directory using WS_FTP, the file permissions automatically set to allow web viewing.

How-to: Using FTP with WS_FTP
How-to: Using FTP with WinSCP

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Requesting a Microsoft SQL database

Microsoft SQL databases are recommended for websites created on the Windows web server fp.auburn.edu with ASP or ASPX scripting.


Request a Microsoft SQL database

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Requesting a mySQL database

mySQL is an open source relational database system. The SQL part of mySQL stands for Structured Query Language, the most common standardized language used to access databases. PHP can be used to read and write to mySQL databases on Mallard web pages.


Request a mySQL database

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What is SSH?

SSH, or secure shell, is a communications protocol that allows one computer (the client) to log in to another (a remote host or server) securely. In other words, all the information that is shared between your computer and the server that your computer is talking to is encrypted, which prevents it from being stolen during transfer.

For example, if you went on a trip and took along a laptop computer with Internet access, you could make an SSH connection into the OIT Sun Network (using SecureCRT) to access your web space or other server-based resources.

If you have an account on the Alabama supercomputer, you can connect via SSH to the supercomputer at asncray.asc.edu. You can also "SSH" to other machines directly from the OIT Sun Network simply by using the ssh command from the server prompt.

At Auburn University, SecureCRT is used to log in to the OIT Sun Network in order to edit web pages, store and backup files, post to Usenet newsgroups, etc. The hostname is mallard.auburn.edu (dubbed Mallard for short).

Visit Wikipedia.org for more detailed information regarding SSH.

Common Topic: Basic UNIX Commands
Common Topic: Understanding UNIX file permissions
How-to: Connecting to Mallard with SecureCRT

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Basic UNIX commands

Here are a few of the commands you can use (italic commands require changes):

Note: These UNIX commands will not ask you "Are you sure?" when you delete, copy over, or rename over a file. There is NO undo feature, as well.

pwd : determines the present working directory

cd directory : change directories; i.e. cd /home/home9/AUuser/subdir

ls : list of all the files in a directory

ls -l : detailed list of all the files, including file permissions, ownership, and groupname.

ls -R : recursive parameter; see all the subdirectories and files in and below the present one

ls -alR : recursive long listing including any hidden files

cp filename newname : make a copy of a file within the present working directory

cp filename targetdirectory : copy a file to another directory

mv filename newname : "move"or rename a file within the present working directory

mv filename targetdirectory : move a file to another directory

rm filename : delete a file located in the present working directory

mkdir newdirectory : make a new directory; use chmod command afterward and chgrp command if it is a shared directory

rmdir directoryname : delete a directory; will not work if files are in the directory

command1 | command2 : send the output of one program to another by putting a | (the pipe symbol) between two commands; for example, if you want to look at a list of your files, but you have too many files to see at once, you can prevent them from scrolling too quickly by piping the ls command into the more command like this ls | more.

command > filename : send the output of a program to a file; for example, to send the output of the ls command to the filelist.dat, use ls | filelist.dat.

man command : find more information about a particular command

cd /usr/bin : use this to display a complete list of commands can be found and

ls : this to display all the commands

You can also use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard to set the permissions for all the files in a directory.

Common Topic: Create or redefine UNIX commands

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Create or redefine UNIX commands

You can also create or redefine commands and symbolic links to help you navigate.

  1. The first command is the alias command. The format for using alias is

      alias new-command 'old-command'

    To have the "long version" of list files displayed via the "ls" command:

      alias ls 'ls -l'

    To have the current working directory displayed whenever you change directories:

      alias cd 'cd \!*;set prompt = "`pwd`: "'


    If you are used to using another operating system, such as DOS, it may be convenient to rename the SunOS commands you use frequently to match the DOS commands for the same functions. For example, to create the UNIX equivalent of the DOS command dir, you would enter


      alias dir 'ls'


    From now until you log out, 'dir' executes the 'ls' command. If you are used to DOS, some suggested command definitions are:


      alias print 'lp'
      alias copy 'cp'
      alias type 'more'
      alias cls 'clear'


    If you want to create permanent commands that exist every time that you log in, add these changes to the .cshrc file in your home directory as described above.

  2. You can set up a symbolic link to the organization's Web directory from your home directory so that you don't have to type the complete path each time you change directories. Use the following command to set up the symbolic link:


      ln -s directory_path link_name


    where linke_name is whatever you decide to call the link, and directory_path is the full /export/vol2/httpd/htdocs/... pathname of the directory. Hereafter, you only have to enter


      cd link_name


    to go directly to the organization Web directory.


    To delete a symbolic link, use the rm (remove) command. For the example above, to remove the link (but not the link_name directory itself) :


      rm link_name

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Understanding UNIX file permissions

Permissions are divided into three types:

r - read the file or directory
w - write to the file or directory
x - execute the file or directory

Read permission allows a user to read the contents of the file, or in the case of directories, to list the contents of the directory.


Write permission allows the user to write to and modify the file. For directories, write permission allows the user to create new files or delete files within that directory.


Execute permission allows the user to run the file as a program or shell script (if the file happens to be a program or shell script, that is). For directories, having execute permission allows the user to cd into the directory in question.

Each of these permissions is set for each of three types of users:

u - the owner of the file
g - members of the group to which the owner belongs
o - all other users

By setting the permissions, the file owner controls what users of each type can and cannot do to the file. The permissions to a file are listed as a string of nine characters like this:

user    group   other 


r w x   r w x   r w x

You can view the permissions of a file by entering ls -l at the command line prompt. The output will be a list of all the files and directories in your present directory. An example of one line from such a list would be:

-rwxrw-r-- smithjo client 3754 Feb 24 15:30 my.txt

The first (-) tells you if the entry is a file(-), directory(d), or a link(l). It is followed by the permissions list for the file, directory, or link. This is followed by the AU User Name of the person who owns the file or directory, in this case smithjo. The owner's AU User Name is then followed by the name of the owner's group (client), the size of the file(in bytes,3754), the date the file was last modified (Feb 24 15:30), and finally the name of the file (my.txt).

File permissions are set or changed with the chmod command. There is a shorthand way of setting permissions by using octal numbers. Read permission is given the value 4, write permission the value 2 and execute permission 1. These values are added together for any one user category:

1 = execute only
2 = write only
3 = write and execute (1+2)
4 = read only
5 = read and execute (4+1)
6 = read and write (4+2)
7 = read and write and execute (4+2+1)

So access permissions can be expressed as three digits. For example:


    Command                   Result 



                              user   group   others



    chmod 664 file1           -rw-    rw-     r--

    chmod 644 file1           -rw-    r--     r--

    chmod 775 directory1      drwx    rwx     r-x

Common Topic: UNIX file permission commands

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UNIX file permissions

The OIT Sun Network uses the UNIX operating system. You can connect via SSH to the OIT Sun Network to manage user/group access to files on your web space. Because there are multiple users on a UNIX system, an individual user's files must be protected from tampering by other users. UNIX provides such a mechanism with file permissions. This mechanism allows files and directories to be "owned" by a particular user.

The files you create are owned by you, and you control access to them. So you can restrict access to your files, preventing other users from accessing them. However, some files, such as those created for viewing as World Wide Web pages, must be readable in order to serve their purpose. On most systems, the default is to allow other users to read your files, but not modify or delete them in any way. Use these UNIX commands to change file and directory permissions:

chmod 644 filename : if the file is yours alone, you must restrict the group permissions to allow read only (because everyone is a member of the group other); allow the "world" to read only

chmod 664 filename : if the file is to be shared, remember to first change the group ownership using chgrp command as above; give read and write access to the group, and allow the "world" to read only, by using the command

chmod 775 directory : allow read, write and execute permission to the owner and group, and allow the "world" to read and execute, by using the command

chmod 666 PHP_data_file : any data file that needs to be written to by a PHP script has to be world readable and writeable

Where filename is the name of the file or directory is the name of the directory. You can also use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard to set the permissions for all the files in a directory:

UNIX also allows files to be shared. In this way, files can be maintained by the persons responsible for them but altered by no one else. Although each file is owned by a particular user, it is also owned by a particular group, which is a system-defined group of users. Each user always belongs to at least one group. On the OIT Sun Network, there is a general group called other to which everyone belongs. Use these UNIX commands to view and change group access:

groups : determine what groups you are in

ypmatch groupname group : find out who is in a particular group

chgrp groupname filename : after uploading a file, will change file access to only those in your group

chgrp groupname directory : after uploading a directory, will change directory access to only those in your group

Note: The default access group for everyone on the Mallard server is "other". If you do not change the access group on your organization's Web documents and leave the file permissions set at "read and write" for the group, anyone that can log in to the OIT Sun can edit your Web documents.

The system administrator creates groups for various purposes. For example, the persons maintaining a home page for an organization are all placed into a group for that organization (e.g., sga or upc). There are similar administrative groups, as well as a few system-defined groups used to control access to resources.

Common Topic: Understanding UNIX file permissions

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GroupWise Extranet Calendaring

GW Extranet Calendaring allows Auburn University departments, as well as individual employees, to have a method of publishing their internal GroupWise calendars to the Web. This tool, created by the Office of Information Technology, allows u sers to extend the functionality of their local GroupWise calendars like never before.

Follow these steps to create a GroupWise Extranet Calendar:

  1. Open GroupWise. Click "Tools" then "Options".
  2. Double-click "Security" and click the "Proxy Access" tab.
  3. Search for the user "AUoffice calendar server" and grant read access to appointments. You can also give read access to notes or tasks if you like. Here are some templates that you can choose from :

    Classic - http://gwcal.duc.auburn.edu/gwextranet/scp3.dll/xmonth?user=userid &template=classic

    Extra3     - http://gwcal.duc.auburn.edu/gwextranet/scp3.dll/xmonth?user=userid &template=gwextra3

    Aqua - http://gwcal.duc.auburn.edu/gwextranet/scp3.dll/xmonth?user=userid &template=aqua

    Tabbed - http://gwcal.duc.auburn.edu/gwextranet/scp3.dll/xmonth?user=userid &template=gwextra3

  4. When you choose the look you prefer, simply substitute the userid of the calendar template you want to publish with your own.

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Student organization web pages at AU

Requests for web space, or requests to change webmasters, should be made via e-mail by the faculty advisor or president for that organization to webadmn@auburn.edu. Please include the following information :

Name of the Organization, and Name and Position of person making the request:
OIT uses the SGA's online database of student organizations to determine if an organization is in good standing and to determine who is authorized to request changes to web space access. If your organization has appointed new officers or advisors, please have the appropriate people update the SGA's list before sending requests to OIT.

Greek Life organizations must be in good standing with the Office of Greek Life.

Prospective URL of the Organization's Web Page:
Most student organization web directories are stored on the server in the "student_info" area, so the "real" URL for the organization reads something like www.auburn.edu/student_info/organization_name.

An organization can request a URL redirect, or shorter URL, that's easier to remember. For example: www.auburn.edu/abc might redirect to the "real" URL for Auburn Botanical Club at www.auburn.edu/student_info/botanical_club.

Requested URL redirects need to be unique to the organization and not similar to the names or acronyms used by other University areas.

Names and User Names of the Organization's Webmasters:
All student organization webmasters must already have an AU User Name and password. All currently registered students have an AU User Name. We cannot provide webmaster access to non-AU personnel.

Policies

Student organization web pages must conform to the Policies for student organization web pages and to the Network Policies.

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