Goodies to Go (tm)
June 14, 2004-- Newsletter #289
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Goodies to Go (tm)
June 14, 2004--Newsletter #289
This newsletter is part of the internet.com network.
http://www.internet.com
Featured this week:
* Goodies Thoughts - Windows vs Linux
* Q & A Goodies
* News Goodies
* Goodies Peer Reviews
* Feedback Goodies
* Windows Tech Goodies
* And Remember This...
Goodies Announcement
The new Beyond HTML Goodies book is now available!
Go beyond the basics and learn how the pros add and use dynamic HTML features and advanced JavaScript techniques. Beyond HTML Goodies demonstrates dozens of new and different features readers can add to their existing Web pages using HTML and JavaScript. The book starts with simple text and image tips, such as adding a clock to a Web page or causing text to appear when the mouse moves over an image. It gradually builds to more complex tricks, including manipulating forms or working with cookies behind the scenes. Throughout the book, readers enjoy Joe's snappy style and "to the point" discussion of each "goody" in the book.
http://books.internet.com/books/0789727803
Goodies Thoughts - Windows vs Linux
Should your hosting solution be Windows or Unix/Linux?
First off, you have to give me credit for courage! This is not a question that I
can address without upsetting one or another group of my readers! Beliefs in
which is the superior platform seem to be held stronger than many religious
beliefs. So, just in case you're in that one group, or in that other one, I
apologize in advance for everything I say that upsets you -- even though I know
that won't do any good!
I am, however, going to attempt to point out those few differences that can make
a difference, and at the same time, point out those things which are commonly
believed to be different, but actually aren't so different after all. I think
that in order to keep as many readers as calm as possible for as long as
possible, I'll start with those things that aren't so different.
Features. There are those who believe that ASP means you have to be on a Windows
platform. Nope! What used to be Chilisoft, now Sun Java System Active Server
Pages, provides ASP support on various Linux and Solaris platforms. Similarly,
PERL, PHP, MySQL and the like are all fully supportable on a Windows platform.
Direct support for email from a form is as easy on Unix/Linux as it is on
Windows. The same applies to database connectivity. FrontPage Extensions are
available for both OSs. None of these things need be a factor in your decision.
Stability. There's a notion among aficionados of one platform that their
favorite is more stable then the other. First off, stability is not so easy to
measure. It's a combination of many different factors, not the least of which is
security. Security is server systems is much more a factor of the quality of
administrative and security personnel and procedures than it is of the platform
deployed. Whether or not one is more secure than the other by its own nature is
the subject of an ongoing raging debate that looks to me like it will never end.
It's the equivalent of Ford vs Chrysler vs General Motors.
Take a look at these, for example:
Pro-linux:
http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/188 and the counterpoint:
http://www.securityfocus.com/guest/23028
Pro Windows:
http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/facts/default.asp (there are several
external references in there)
and a little more balanced:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1557749,00.asp
That'll keep you busy for a while!
There are a few differences. For example, on Linux you can use CGI shell scripts
more easily than on Windows, though with PERL & PHP out there I'm not sure why
you would want to. Visual Basic, ASP and .NET are native to Windows although
there are various equivalents in various stages of development for the Linux
platform. IIS runs on Windows, Apache runs on either. Linux is usually
case-sensitive for directory and file names, Windows is not (this matters if you
develop on one and move to the other.)
If you need the features of IIS, VB, ASP or .Net, you should probably stick with
Windows. If you need to run UNIX shell scripts through the CGI, you should
probably stick with Linux. While cross platform support for these features may
be available, you will usually find life easier if you use them in their native
habitats.
That all being said, when looking for a hosting service provider, it's usually
better these days to worry about the quality of service the hosting company can
provide than to spend too much time concerned about the operating system. Take a
look at factors like connectivity speed and capacity, uptime guarantees,
technical support, price and the like, and worry about the operating system only
if you know you have to for something particular you want to do.
Thanks for Reading!
- Vince Barnes
Q & A Goodies
Questions are taken from submissions to our Community Mentors. You can ask a Mentor a question by going to http://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors.
Q. I'm trying to set up an email form. How do I send form data to an email address instead of a file? My email form just brings up outlook; how do I get it to send email directly? When I get data to my email address it is in an attachment with an ".att" extension -- what is this and how do I read it? How do I get my email form data to be formatted as text instead of being full of stuff like "1=on&2=on&3=Better+Management"?
A. To get rid of the .att extension (and formatting problems) add enctype="text/html to the form tag like so:
<form action="mailto:somebody@somewhere.com" method="post" enctype="text/plain">
NOTE, HOWEVER:
Version 6 (and above) browsers do not support email forms (action="mailto:... etc.) Instead, it is necessary to use CGI scripts (PERL, CGI Shell Scripts, PHP etc.) Alternatively, if your server supports FrontPage extensions, there is a "WebBot" in FrontPage that automatically handles sending form data to an email address (as an option to, or in addition to saving it to a file.)
[See also: http://www.htmlgoodies.com/articles/emailforms1.html
and http://www.htmlgoodies.com/articles/emailformphp.html -- Ed.]
Q. When I run the following script it returns the correct day, year, and time. However, the month returns as the previous month, e.g. this month, December (12), is shown as November (11) (my computer does have the correct date.)
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
RightNow = new Date();
document.write("Today's date is " + RightNow.getMonth()+ "-")
document.write(" "+ RightNow.getDate() + "-" + RightNow.getFullYear() + ".")
document.write("You entered this Web Page at exactly: " + RightNow.getHours() + " hours")
document.write(" "+ RightNow.getMinutes() + " minutes and " + RightNow.getSeconds() + " seconds")
</SCRIPT>
A. I have run into this before. The solution is to:
1. Add the following code immediately after RightNow = new Date(); in your function:
newMonth = RightNow.getMonth() + 1;
2. Next change the line that returns the month to:
document.write("Today's date is " +newMonth+ "-")
[See also http://www.htmlgoodies.com/dateandtime -- Ed.]
Q. I need to change the indent length on a nested unordered list. Any ideas?
A. There are multiple ways, so I refer you to these tutorials:
http://htmlgoodies.earthweb.com/tutors/lists.html
http://htmlgoodies.earthweb.com/beyond/css_lists.html
Q. I know that it is possible to use external javascripts on a webpage by using the SRC attribute in the <SCRIPT> flag. Is there anyway to use an external HTML document on a webpage?
A. Yes, you use a server side include. This tutorial explains it: http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/ssi.html
[See also http://www.htmlgoodies.com/letters/231.html -- Ed.]
Q. I would like to know the proper approach to run simultaneous JavaScripts such as in the following scenario. I would like a "rain effect" script (called from a .js file) over top my entire web page with underlying rotating images scripts, sliding texts scripts, other animation scripts, etc. i.e.. items that appear to be rained on. On top of the raining effect, I would to place other JavaScripts (scripts within or outside of the page coding), animated gifs, pictures, etc. that are "dry" i.e. ...kind of a layering wet/dry scenario.
A. When running multiple scripts on one page you need to insure that the different scripts do not use the same variable and/or function names. If they do then you will have to change those that conflict. If you need to have multiple scripts start when the page loads the best way I have found is to use
the onLoad event in the BODY tag to call both of them making sure you separate them with a semicolon.
Like this:
<BODY onLoad="function_one();function_two()">
Q. Do you know of any commands that will not display the password as you type it, or put in a series of asterisks, while still keeping the data so that it can be compared to the values in a database?
A. HTML has a password form field that displays asterisks.
<input type="password" name="var name" size="40" maxlength="80" value="default value">
News Goodies
Reaching for Real Starz
[June 14, 2004] RealNetworks and Starz embrace a monthly
subscription model for your cinematic enjoyment.
Click here to read the article
Intel to Pre-Certify White Boxes
[June 14, 2004] Fledgling program focuses on independent hardware and
software vendors.
Click here to read the article
Mozilla's Newest FireFox Takes Flight
[June 14, 2004] Another round in the browser wars?
Click here to read the article
HDS Gets Serious About SATA
[June 14, 2004] The vendor adds cost storage tool to its fibre
channel mix on its Thunder 9500 V midrange machine.
Click here to read the article
PDF with a Net
[June 14, 2004] Corda's new Highwire extends its line of
server-based, data-presentation applications.
Click here to read the article
Oracle, DOJ Documents May Lose Seals
[June 11, 2004] Legal maneuver by a federal judge could shift some
enterprise software strategies.
Click here to read the article
FreeBSD, Stealth-Growth Open Source Project
[June 11, 2004] Is FreeBSD, that other Unix-like open source operating
system, on the comeback trail?
Click here to read the article
Microsoft Building 'Safer Search'
[June 11, 2004] Redmond looks to differentiate its next-generation
search technology.
Click here to read the article
Buffer Overflows Patched in RealPlayer
[June 11, 2004] Millions of users at risk of PC takeover.
Click here to read the article
Microsoft Patent in Review
[June 11, 2004] Update: Patent watchdog requests a look into the company's
patented file system.
Click here to read the article
Every week a site is selected for review. Each week, reviews of the previous week's selected site are chosen for publication on the HTML Goodies website.
The current week's selected site is published in Goodies To
Go and in the Peer Reviews section of the website.
Current contact email addresses for submitting your site and
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If you would like to have your site reviewed, sign up for
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For full details about this program, see
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/peerreviews
Did you ever wish your newsletter was an easy two way communications medium?
Ploof! It now is!
If you would like to comment on the newsletter or expand/improve on something
you have seen in here, you can now send your input to:
mailto:nlfeedback@htmlgoodies.com
We already receive a lot of email every day. This address will help us sort out
those relating specifically to this newsletter from all the rest. When you send
email to this address it may wind up being included in this section of the
newsletter, to be shared with your fellow readers.
Please don't send your questions to this address.
They should be sent to our mentors: see
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors/
For those who are missing Peer reviews: we are once again
revising the Peer review program in the hopes of creating a
workable solution. The current plan is to move the new Peer
Review pages into place in the new year. All those who have
been selected for reviews in the past will be featured in
the new pages. The new method will make it much easier for
your peers to provide feedback and much easier for us to
handle the publication side of things. "Watch this space!"
It's coming soon!!
Thanks again for all your feedback!
Top
Windows Tech Goodie of the Week:
Hit Counter ASP.NET Sample Code
http://www.asp101.com/samples/counter_aspx.asp
This script is a ASP.NET version of our classic hit counter.
I've implemented it as a custom user control in order to
make it easy to use on a large number of pages. It works in
much the same manner as our original sample and lets you
select whether you want the count displayed as text or
images. I've also added a new option to show no display at
all.
*** AND ***
Kerberos Authentication with Web Services Enhancements 2.0
http://www.15seconds.com/issue/040602.htm
Kerberos authentication is the cornerstone of Windows
operating system authentication architecture. Web Services
Enhancements 2.0 (WSE 2.0) extends Kerberos support to
ASP.NET Web services. Chris Peiris explains the support for
this new feature in WSE 2.0.
Top
And Remember This . . .
On this day in...
1982 Argentina Surrenders, Ends Falkland Islands War
After a war that had lasted 72 days and cost over a thousand lives
(236 British and 655 Argentinean) and more than two billion dollars,
Argentine commander Mario Menendez signed an "unnegotiated cease
fire" and 9800 Argentine troops put down their weapons, thereby
ending the Falkland Island War. On March 26 1982 dictator General
Leopoldo Galtieri launched an invasion of the Falkland Islands, then
(and still) a British territory, that had been planned by commander
of the Argentine Navy Admiral Jorge Anaya. Galtieri intended the
invasion to bolster popularity for his government. While it had the
desired effect in the very short term, the sound defeat of his
forces by much smaller British forces eventually led to the fall of
his dictatorship and the return of democracy to Argentina. The
outcome of the war also helped Margaret Thatcher to win a landslide
re-election.
Today was also the day that in: 1775 the United States Army
was founded; 1775 the Continental Congress adopted the Stars
& Stripes as the replacement for the Grand Union flag; 1834
Isaac Fischer of Vermont invented sandpaper; 1847 Bunson
invented the gas burner; John McTammany of Massachusetts invented
the player piano; 1935 the Chaco War between Bolivia &
Paraguay ended; 1942 Disney released "Bambi"; 1949 the
state of Vietnam was formed; 1951 the first commercial
computer, UNIVAC I, went into service at the US Census Bureau;
1953 Elvis Presley graduated from LC Humes High School in
Memphis Tennessee; 1954 President Eisenhower signed an order
adding the words "under God" to the US Pledge of Allegiance; 1965
John Lennon's 2nd book "A Spaniard in the Works" was published; 1985
Lebanese Shiite Moslem gunmen hijacked TWA 847 after its Athens'
takeoff;
Born today were: in 1820 "Familiar Quotations" compiler John
Bartlett; 1864 German psychiatrist/pathologist Alois
Alzheimer; 1909 singer/actor Burl Ives; 1918 actress
Dorothy McGuire; 1919 actor Sam Wanamaker; 1921 actor
Gene Barry; 1946 real estate mogul Donald Trump; 1952
actor Eddie Mekka (Carmine - Laverne & Shirley); 1961
musician Boy George O'Dowd; 1969 German tennis player Steffi
Graf;
Thanks for reading Goodies to Go!
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