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Copyright and Header 


##############################################################################
# Animation                     Version 1.2                                  #
# Copyright 1996 Matt Wright    mattw@worldwidemart.com                      #
# Created 9/28/95               Last Modified 11/21/95                       #
# Scripts Archive at:           http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/        #
##############################################################################
# If you run into any problems while trying to configure this scripts, help  #
# is available.  The steps you should take to get the fastest results, are:  #
#     1) Read this file thoroughly                                           #
#     2) Consult the Matt's Script Archive Frequently Asked Questions:       #
#                http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/faq/                   #
#     3) If you are still having difficulty installing this script, send     #
#        e-mail to: scripts-help@tahoenet.com                                #
#        Include any error messages you are receiving and as much detail     #
#        as you can so we can spot your problem.  Also include the variable  #
#        configuration block that is located at the top of the script.       #
#                                                                            #
# Hopefully we will be able to help you solve your problems.  Thank you.     #
##############################################################################
# COPYRIGHT NOTICE                                                           #
# Copyright 1996 Matthew M. Wright  All Rights Reserved.                     #
#                                                                            #
# Animation may be used and modified free of charge by anyone so long as     #
# this copyright notice and the comments above remain intact.  By using this #
# code you agree to indemnify Matthew M. Wright from any liability that      #
# might arise from it's use.                                                 #
#                                                                            #
# Selling the code for this program without prior written consent is         #
# expressly forbidden.  In other words, please ask first before you try and  #
# make money off of my program.                                              #
#                                                                            #
# Obtain permission before redistributing this software over the Internet or #
# in any other medium.	In all cases copyright and header must remain intact #
##############################################################################

Overview

This script allows you to implement animations in-lined into your HTML pages. It uses the idea of server push, where images are pushed down by the server to the client one after the other, which creates the look of an animation. There is not much to this script and it should not be hard to install onto your system. You will need to have Perl installed on your system and have access to execute CGI scripts either through a cgi-bin or a .cgi extension. Check with your system administrator to see if they allows either of these.

There are two files included with this script:

  1. README - This file; includes detailed installation instructions.
  2. nph-anim.pl - The Perl script which generates the headers and pushes your images to the client.


nph-anim.pl

  • The only file that needs to be edited for this script to work is the nph-anim.pl script. Below is a set of instructions for setting it up on your system.

    There are three variables that must be set in this script for it to work correctly:

    $times = "1";
    This is the number of times you want the script to cycle through your entire animation. Most of the time this will be set to "1", but you may wish for it to loop several times.
    $basefile = "/path/to/images/";
    This is the base filename where all of your images are kept. When the script chooses the images, the filenames from @files are appended to this to form a complete path to the image. Realize that this path must be an absolute path on the system and should not be relative to the WWW pages.
    @files = ("begin.gif","second.gif","third.gif","last.gif");
    These are the filenames, put into an array separated by commas, that will be appended to $basefile. Put the images in the order that you want the animation sequence to run, with the first image as the first element of the array and the last image of the animation as your last element of the array.
    $con_type = "gif";
     
    This should be set to the type of image you are planning on sending to the browser. Values can be one of the following:
          VALUE                    IMAGE EXTENSION
      gif                      gif
      jpeg                     jpeg jpg jpe
      ief                      ief
      tiff                     tiff tif
      x-cmu-raster             ras
      x-portable-anymap        pnm
      x-portable-bitmap        pbm
      x-portable-graymap       pgm
      x-portable-pixmap        ppm
      x-rgb                    rgb
      x-xbitmap                xbm
      x-xpixmap                xpm
      x-xwindowdump            xwd

    For instance, if you want to use a jpg image, you would put in 'jpeg' for this variable. Use the values on the right in this variable, and you can identify the proper values by looking at the extension on your image and then looking for it in the right column and trace it over to the value in the left. Keep in mind that not all of the values will display in all browsers.

How to Call This Script From Your Web Page

Calling this animation script is as easy as in-lining an image. If your animation script is located at http://your.host.xxx/cgi-bin/nph-anim.pl, then you would call the animation simply by doing:

      <img src="http://your.host.xxx/cgi-bin/nph-anim.pl">

Any other attribute to the image or animation can be added as normal, such as align, border, alt, etc... so that it would look like:

      <img src="http://your.host.xxx/cgi-bin/nph-anim.pl"
       align=left border=0 alt="Animation!">

Frequently Asked Question:

  • Can I change the name of nph-anim.pl? Why does it have nph- in front of it?

    Good question. If you change the name of the script from nph-anim.pl to something without nph- on the front of it, you will need to comment out the line:

    print "HTTP/1.0 200 OK\n";

    The nph- means non-parsed header file, which makes the server execute it instead of parsing the script.

    You may also want to try commenting out the line if the script is giving you problems.

    More Frequently Asked Questions

History 

   Version 1.0  - 9/18/95     - First Version Released
   Version 1.1  - 11/4/95     - Version 1.1 Released with a minor fix 
                                explaining the nph- and header outputs.
   Version 1.2  - 11/21/95    - A small fix, suggested by Robert Wood 
                                <wood@nexen.com> helped improve the 
                                buffering of the output of the images.

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