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Text File | 1998-02-05 | 17.9 KB | 427 lines

_ __ __ _____ __ __ | | / /__ / /_ / ___// /___ __/ /__ | | /| / / _ \/ __ \\__ \/ __/ / / / / _ \ | |/ |/ / __/ /_/ /__/ / /_/ /_/ / / __/ |__/|__/\___/_.___/____/\__/\__, /_/\___/ /____/ (c) Robin Moffatt (R.Moffatt@IName.com) V1.29 (Thu 05th February 1998) See http://www.moffatt.demon.co.uk/me/webstyle.html for more information Introducing WebStyle -------------------- With all this talk about Stylesheets etc in the next version of HTML, I thought I'd write something which provided a cheap imitation of it, which would be available now, not whenever the HTML spec comes out plus a year for Acorn browsers to catch up...... You can use WebStyle (referred to as WS) as much or as little in your documents. You can have a simple header and footer for every page, or have many different tags on one page. The big advantage of using Tags, rather than cutting and pasting a Header or Footer every time is that you can update a single source file, and leave WS to update the right parts of all your HTML pages. My practical use, and motivation, for writing WS, is a set of HTML pages, comprising the Horn Resources Pages (http://bounce.to/horn/). These pages collect together over 190 separate topics from a mailing list, about horn playing. I used to have to use crude search&replace routines, or even do it by hand, when I wanted to change all the headers and footers on the pages, for example to update an email address. Now I just change the Stylefile and leave WS to do it all for me :) WS works on a system of Tags (embedded within HTML comments), and Styles. Each Style has its own file, within the directory <WebStyle$Dir>.styles The name of the file in the styles directory is the name of the Style. As of version 0.20 of WS, you can mix Styles within a single HTML document. This means, for example, that you could have a generic footer for every single page on your site, but different headers depending on whether the page is in the, say, Weatherwax or Beeblebrox section of your site. WS currently runs in 128k of memory. It's been written on and tested on a RPC600, and a can't see why it won't run on a SA, but then again that's not really much of an assurance :) It might work on RO2 - if you are still using it then mail me, just so I can have a good laugh. Seriously, I'd be interested to know if it does still work, and if it's a simple thing preventing it from working may even feel moved to fix it. WS requires WimpExtension to run. ATM WS is only happy with WimpExt 2.18, which is why I've (as of WS1.14) decided to distribute it with WS. If anyone can point me towards documentation for WimpExt 3.45 then I'll set about making WS compatible with it. At the moment WS is written in 100% pure, un-compacted, un-optimised BASIC. This is because I don't have a C compiler (boo-hoo. Not. Since I don't know any C either:), and I have better things to do with my time than arse around with ARM code. I'll have to be careful what I write here, after what happened with the frontend, but if anyone wants to convert main processing bits into something fast then they are more than welcome to. Mail me first to check it's not been done already :) Using WS -------------- Before running WS, you have to do two things: 1) Construct your style files. You can have just one, or you can have twenty. It depends on how much versatility you require. Note that at the moment the maximum number of tags that WS will handle is 50. If you need more than this then alter the line maxstyle%=50 to whatever is required. I plan to make this more easily configurable in the near future. Each Style should be in a separate file in the directory <WebStyle$Dir>.styles - the filename gives the name of the Style. The syntax for Style files is the Tag name enclose by ASCII character 235 (ë), then the HTML code to insert, starting on a newline, then an ASCII character 233 (é) to mark the end of the HTML to insert. For example: ëTagNameë <H1>This bit to insert</H1> <EM>and this</EM> <STRONG>and this as well</STRONG> é In this case, you would have a Tag called TagName which when inserted in the HTML would give <H1>This bit to insert</H1> <EM>and this</EM> <STRONG>and this as well</STRONG> The order that each separate Tag comes is not important. Please note that Tag names /ARE/ case sensitive! Dynamic Variables ----------------- There are currently four dynamic tags available. These are codes placed in the Style file which are then processed at run-time. They are: ASC 232 è Current Date ASC 231 ç URL of page ASC 230 æ Local filename of page (inc. path) ASC 229 å Filename of file being processed (exc. path) A suggested use for these is to place the following lines in the Stylefile (within a tag name, for example Footer) ëFooterë <HR> Last updated: è<BR> URL: ç <BR> Local path: æ<BR> Local filename: å é When processed by WS would give something like: Last updated: Sat, 06 Dec 1997 URL: http://www.hostname.demon.co.uk/file.htm Local path: ADFS::Harddisc4.$.Netpages.file/htm Local filename: file/htm 2) Insert your tags into the HTML files. This only needs to be done once, since WS retains the Tags when processing the file, so you can re-process the HTML files again and again, without having to insert the tags each time. Say you want to insert the tag from the style file above. If we are working from just one style file, then the Tag syntax would be:   which when processed would give  <H1>This bit to insert</H1> <EM>and this</EM> <STRONG>and this as well</STRONG>  However, if we want to specify from which Style to use the tag, the syntax is:   This would then look for the Tag "TagName" in the Style "default" If there is a tag in an HTML file without a matching style entry, a note will be put in the resulting HTML file, as well as an error being displayed on screen. The program will still continue to run, meaning that one duff entry won't stop the rest of the file being processed As of WS 1.20 you can have 'interactive' (thank god for Buzzwords;) tags. This means that each document can have, say, a title added to it when it's being processed. To do this, you use tags as detailed above, but use the ASCII character 236 (ì). For example   would make WS prompt you for "PageTitle" when it gets to that tag. As well as simply entering the text into the icon, you can have up to 20 predefined responses. These are defined in the file <WebStyle$Dir>.insert The format of this file is <menu label>,<text to insert> The <menu label> must be no longer than 12 character, otherwise it all goes pear shaped. The text to insert, I think, can be up to 255 characters. Make sure that you end the file with a newline. The Configuration file ---------------------- As of 1.18 there are now 4 configuration options. Two of these can be set from the main window, but for the moment you have to enter the other two manually. (The templates and code are actually in the application to allow one to enter the data without editting the file, but I'm buggered if I can get it to work....anyone is welcome to try :) + To do this, open up the !WS directory (Hold down Shift and double click on !WS) + Double-click on the directory "User" + Double-click on the file "config" + After "Root directory on local disc for webpages = " enter the root directory. For example, if all your pages are stored in directories leading off from ADFS::HardDisc4.$.Internet.WebPages this would be your root directory. I use raFS, so my root directory is raFS::WebSite.$ Note that you _don't_ need a trailing dot, and if you do put one in WS will get upset. + After "Root directory on remote server = " enter the root directory for your remote server, where your web pages are kept. For demon users this will probably be http://www.<nodename>.demon.co.uk/ + Make sure there is always a space /after/ the = sign, on both lines, otherwise, again, WS will get upset Running WS ---------------- NB. It's advisable to unpack WS from the archive before running it Double-click on !WS to run it. Clicking on the icon-bar WS icon will open the main window, from where you can choose how you wish to process the files. If you use automatic tagging (see above) or Clear tags, you just select the option, load your files (see below), and click on Start Processing. If you use a specific Style file you have to select one from the menu to the right of the icon. This will list all of the style files found in the directory <WebStyle$Dir>.styles Note that when processing using a specific Style file, WS will insert this stylefile name into Automatic-tagging tags, so that next time you process the file you can just use Automatic tagging. If this proves unhelpful, let me know and I'll make it optional As of v1.00 of WS there are three ways of getting WS to process an HTML file. + Any filelist text files that people used with earlier versions are still valid. These are files with the _full_ filename of each HTML file in, separated by a newline (ASC10 or ASC13). Make sure there is a newline after the last file item. Drop this resulting text file onto the WS icon and off you go :) + Drop a single, or a batch, of HTML files onto the WS icon (or window) + Drop a directory or X-File onto the WS icon (or window). The directory or X-File will be searched for all HTML files. WS won't recursively search the directory/X-File, ie. it will only find HTML in the first level of the directory/X-File You can combine all three of these methods at once - the files are simply added onto the end of the queue. WS will attempt to process every file you feed it - no problem if it's just an HTML file without any tags, since it'll just ignore it, but it will most likely barf if you give it JPEGs etc Misc ---- A log file is kept at <WebStyle$Dir>.error At the moment there is no way to disable it, but if it's needed let me know and I'll add the option. Actually, I tell a lie - you can set log% to FALSE in PROCInit, but this isn't advised, since PROCLog is used for more than writing to the log file, and may cause problems if it is disabled, tho' it shouldn't really This program does what I envisaged, and only that. If you want it to do something, then ask me nicely, and I'll try to add it. Alternatively, if you're feeling brave, you could try and make sense of my programming, and do it yourself. If you do change something, let me have a copy! Legal bits ---------- + You are advised to work solely from backups. WS /shouldn't/ chew up your HTML files or feed them to the dog, but if it does, it ain't my fault! By using this program you accept responsibility for all use of WS, and any problems which may be inherent through that. + WS inserts a single line to indicate when the page was last processed, as well as a little credit for the program. I would appreciate if you'd leave the line in, seeing as I'm not charging for the program. If it bothers you that much then donate 5 UKP to Imperial Cancer Research and I'll send you a copy of the program with the credit etc removed. Of course, you could do it yourself by hand (ooo-er;) but that's hardly a nice thing to do is it? + This is <insert witty-ware name here> + I retain all copyright on the code etc, but feel free to copy it, hand it around, feed it to your dog etc. + If you do nick bits of the code (though it really isn't worth it, believe me:), I'd appreciate a credit for it + For PD distribution, please notify me first. The exception to this is Skyfall PD, who are forbidden to distribute this program + For magazine distribution (I wish:) please contact me. + I would appreciate a quick email if you do use this, just to let me know *someone* is using it! History ------- 0.11 (29 Sep 97) First release 0.20 (21 Oct 97) Added multiple styles per document Added process directory, doing away with the hassle of the 'files' file Improved appearance of the 'front-end' Altered log file, added 'Fatal' and 'Processing' errors 1.00 (23 Oct 97) Created multitasking frontend - no need for Taskwindows any more Removed bug causing filelist files with ASC13 instead of ASC10 as linefeeds to not work 1.05 (29 Oct 97) Added selection of Styles from a menu Found and [hopefully] fixed loads of likkle bugs. 1.10 (31 Oct 97) Corrected stupid error causing WS not to run if it can't find WimpExt in the !WS directory Corrected the WS URL that's added to every HTML page that is processed Added Configuration file Added Singletasking 1.14 (07 Nov 97) Removed WS sprite to cut down archive size Re-done Template file to correct error with large desktop fonts obscuring option buttons Added check for Style files that have been altered while WS is running Added check for duplicate files Added WimpExt 2.18 to distribution archive 1.15 (12 Nov 97) Added definable file limit Added 'Open style dir' button (Thanks to Phil Williams for these two) Couple of logging alterations Fixed problem with verifying the length of style files when doing "Clear out tag contents" 1.15a (16 Nov 97) Fixed directory handling bug 1.15b (16 Nov 97) Fixed fix for directory handling bug (!!) 1.16 (18 Nov 97) Corrected iconbar menu height 1.20 (19 Nov 97) Added Dynamic URL and Local filename insertion Added tags allowing text to be entered during processing Restructured the WS directory in anticipation of future expansion 1.21 (20 Nov 97) Fixed bug where  would sometimes be duplicated 1.25ß (03 Dec 97) Added Dynamic Processing 1.26 (09 Dec 97) Removed Dynamic Processing! Added 'Open logfile' to Iconbar menu 1.27 (12 Jan 98) Hopefully some kind of final release, for now anyway! 1.28 (03 Feb 98) Final release? Don't be daft! Tidied up templates etc Future ------ + WS gets really upset if you try and save files into it directly from other programs, eg. an HTML file straight from an editor, or a text filelist. It shouldn't be too hard (I hope:) to make it just ignore these. Even better can someone tell be simply how to handle the files myself? + WS Crashes if you add a style file and don't restart WS before trying to process a file. Since it's a not very common thing to do, and doesn't cause loss of data, I can't be bothered to fix it now :-) + Would be nice to be able to have the local and remote directories set somewhere within the HTML file being processed, rather than being hardwired into the configuration. This way files uploaded on seperate servers, or running from different file systems can be processed without having to re-configure WS each time. + Save to box for HTML file once processed + Window containing tags for auto-insertion into an editor window + Any other suggestions? Mail me! (See below for address) Bugs ---- Any deviations from the progam's normal functions are simply an alternative way of doings things to what was envisaged by the author, and if you can't accept that then I really think you need to take a long look at your attitudes and acceptance of other views. Seriously tho, I've not really found /proper/ bugs - doing daft stuff like running it without any input files is liable to upset it, but then again it's a rather dumb thing to do. Still, I'd like to know about any little discrepancies you find, since my aim is to create a program that is very easy, and very bug-free, to use :) Thanks To --------- Me, for writing it ;-) Philip Powell, for suggesting a !WS.process directory plus masses of other general feedback and support. Stephen Read, for pointing out that WS was only recognizing LFs in the 'files' file instead of CRs, which StrongEd inserts. Dominic Symes, for Zap Tim Tyler, for Zap's HoTMeaL mode Jon Ribbers, for Wimp Extension Ferdinand Veldmans, for writing a frontend as I requested in the v0.11 helpfile, only to find I'd decided to try and write one anyway. Sorry again for wasting your time :-) Also for sending me the calculation regarding the correct height for the iconbar menu. Phil Williams (aka RottenSod), for sending me the additional code to make the file limit definable, and for the 'open style dir' button bit Obtaining the latest version of WS ---------------------------------------- http://www.moffatt.demon.co.uk/me/webstyle.html Or various FTP sites included HENSA, Demon and Argonet, when I get round to uploading it there. Contacting me ------------- Email: Take your pick <g> (all should work, but are given in order of preference, top to bottom) R.Moffatt@IName.com Robin@moffatt.demon.co.uk WWW: http://bounce.to/Robin/ http://www.moffatt.demon.co.uk/ -- |D |\/| ** http://bounce.to/Robin/ ** Sheffield, UK ** |\obin | |offatt ** R.Moffatt@IName.com ** Horn Player ** "...except a few pieces most of this more or less organised noise sounds to me like the noise someone's body might produce after eating cherries & cucumbers & drinking a lot of water afterwards. What the body produces after this 'special diet' (you could replace water with 'new wine') by shock and releases by shock, just this sounds & smells like a lot of the products by these chaotic self established composers." - Prof Hans Pizka on much of Modern music Horn Resources Pages - http://bounce.to/horn/