Internet 53/INTERNET53.iso/pc/software/windows/building/html_px/sample/index.htt

Text File | 1999-01-19 | 5.7 KB | 138 lines

#set title htmlPX - The HTML Programmer's Extension

{hdr}

<p>
Please read the <a href="license.htm">License Agreement</a> before using this program.  By using the program,
you have implicitly agreed to abide by these terms.

<p align="center">
<a href="{webaddr}">
<img src="htmlpx.gif" alt="This site developed with htmlPX." border=0"></a>

<p align="center">
<table border=1>
<tr>
<td width="50%" align="center"><a href="uguide.htm">User's Guide</a></td>
<td width="50%" align="center"><a href="ref.htm">Reference Guide</a></td>
</tr>
</table>

#call section Introduction

<p>
The HTML Programmer's Extension, <b>htmlPX</b>, is a simple command-line HTML preprocessor that can be used to build
websites from template files.  The template files and other, auxilliary files, are combined by htmlPX
to produce HTML files that can be uploaded to a website.

<p>
htmlPX is designed to allow someone who is well-versed with HTML to quickly build <i>template</i> files and <i>code
library</i> files with a simple text editor.  A wide variety of HTML editors can also be used to create these files.
These files are then combined based on a <i>site file</i>, which is a set of directives to htmlPX, to create an
entire website.  This process is referred to as <i>compiling</i> or <i>generating</i>.  The advantages
of using htmlPX over straight, hand-coded HTML files are:

<ul>
<li> Easier to use than many other "database-driven" approaches
<li> Allows use of your choice of HTML tools
<li> Provides a means of building multi-pages sites with a great deal of consistency
<li> Allows rapid changes to the "look" of the site upon recompilation
<li> Provides a means of reusing HTML code by a means other than cut-and-pasting
<li> Provides an easy means of creating "mirror" sites with very slight modifications
<li> Produces HTML code that can work with all browsers, unlike code that uses style sheets
</ul>

<p>
I started building htmlPX because I needed a tool to build my own websites and I couldn't find a free tool that
was as powerful and as easy to learn and use as I needed.  I hope you take a few moments to learn how to use
htmlPX.  I believe it will be well worth the investment in time you give.  The 30 minutes it takes you to learn
to use this tool will be paid back many times over in productivity improvements.  I hope htmlPX makes you more
productive and makes building your websites easier and more fun.

#call section System Requirements

<p>
htmlPX was originally developed as an exercise to learn the Java programming language.  It is written completely in
Java using JDK 1.1.5 and therefore requires a Java 1.1 Virtual Machine <i>(JVM)</i> to run.  It was tested under
Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 with both Sun's JVM <i>(java.exe)</i> and Microsoft's JVM <i>(jview.exe)</i>.  It
should run on Windows 98, OS/2, UNIX, Linux and Macintosh as well, but it has not been tested.  I would be excited
to hear of any non-Windows operating systems that it is used on.

<p>
If you do not have a JVM, you can get Sun's runtime environment free.  Download the JRE from
<a href="http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.1/jre/index.html">
http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.1/jre/index.html</a>.

#call section Installation

<p>
The actual Java classes that are needed to run htmlPX are located in the htpxs1_0.jar file.  This file is the only
one that is really needed to run htmlPX.  Installation involves unzipping the downloaded file <i>htpxs1_0.zip</i>
into a directory.  This directory will be called the <i>program directory</i>.

<p>
For Windows use, a batch file named htmlpx.bat is included in the installation file.  This file can be used to
actually run htmlPX.  You will need to modify htmlpx.bat so that the line<br><br>
<code>java -classpath <b>c:\pgm\htmlpx\htpxs1_0.jar</b>;%CLASSPATH% htmlpx %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9</code>
<br><br>
will contain your program directory instead of <code>c:\pgm\htmlpx</code>.  Notice that the <i>jar</i> file name
is included in the directory specification.  Java needs the entire file name to find the classes in a compressed
archive.

<p>
You can modify the batch file to use <b>jview</b> from Microsoft if you wish to.  It could be modified to use
whichever JVM you prefer.

<p>
After modifying the htmlpx.bat file, you should copy it into a directory that is located in your path.  Once this
has been correctly done, you can execute htmlPX with a command such as:<br><br>
<code>htmlpx my.sf</code><br><br>
where <i>my.sf</i> is your site file.  (More on that later.)

<p>
For other operating systems you will need to create your own shell scripts or whatever to execute htmlPX in your
environment.  If you have problems with this, please feel free to contact me at <a href="mailto:{email}">
{email}</a> and I will try to help you determine how to run it on your system.

#call section Documentation

<p>
The following documentation files will guide you through using htmlPX.

<center>
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<a href="uguide.htm">User's Guide</a>
</td>
<td width=50></td>
<td>
A quick tutorial and a basic user's guide
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<a href="ref.htm">Reference Guide</a>
</td>
<td width=50></td>
<td>
A detailed reference to all htmlPX directives
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>

#call section Support and Questions

<p>
If you have questions or comments about htmlPX, please email me at <a href="mailto:{email}">
{email}</a>.  Since this is free software, I cannot promise to fix the problem, but I will certainly
try.  I want you to be successful and tell all of your friends.  I might even want you to buy an
improved version of htmlPX at some future time.

<p>
You can also visit the htmlPX webpage at <a href="{webaddr}">{webaddr}</a>.

{foot}