There’s no place like home

“Life’s a voyage that’s homeward bound.”

-Herman Melville

Introduction

The readings for this week focused on web hosting or, as MacDonald put it, finding a home on the web. Home is a very powerful concept in our culture, and my thoughts were inevitably drawn to it. References to home are rife in web terminology and can be seen in such terms as home page. As I journey towards the creation of my first web site I, like Dorothy, am setting out on a quest through unfamiliar terrain to find my home.

Notes on Readings

MacDonald, Chapter 3

In Chapter 3, “Putting Your Page on the Web,” MacDonald discusses the issues associated with domain names and web hosting. He gives a description of the mechanism by which computers locate a website. This is done through the Uniform Resource Locator (URL). The elements of a URL include:

• Protocol: Indicates the method of transmission, the most common of which is Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), information can also be transferred using File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• Domain: Identifies the hosting web server, usually begins with www to identify them as World Wide Web servers; names such as www.google.com will link to the Internet Protocol (IP) address, which is the numeric address computers use to locate a server
• File path: The folder where the web server stores the file being requested
• File name: Identifies the specific web page being requested
• Bookmark: Indicates the specific part of a web page being requested; always begins with a number sign (#)
• Query string: Used to send optional information from one web page to another; always begins with a question mark (?)

MacDonald explains that domain names contain only letters, numbers and dashes. They must be unique and it can be rather difficult to find one that is not already in use. The first step in putting one’s page on the web is to register a domain name. This can be done by:

• Domain parking: Registers a domain name so that no one else can use it
• Domain forwarding: Links a domain name to an external web host (such as an Internet Service Provider [ISP])
• Full web hosting: Domain name registration and web hosting through a single entity

MacDonald then discusses the next step, which is picking a web host. He points out the myriad of issues involved, which include:

• Web space: How much storage is needed for the site; typically this will be less than 20 MB unless it contains a great deal of pictures and video
• Bandwidth: The maximum amount of information the site can deliver to visitors in a given month
• Email: Whether one wishes to have an email account using their domain name and options for doing so
• Uploads: How easy it is to upload site files to the host; whether the host supports FTP or uploads from editing programs such as Dreamweaver
• Scripts: Features that allow added usability to a site; whether the host supports options such as emailing the information that visitors supply

I found this chapter to be very informative and full of information that is likely to prove very useful later on. Like most people I have been using the world wide web for years and was somewhat curious as to what went into delivering all of these sites to my screen. It was very interesting to get a peek behind the scenes.

MacDonald, Chapter 4

In Chapter 4, “Power Tools,” MacDonald discusses web editing software. He explains that while using a text editor such as Notepad is a good training tool, it is impractical to use this method to develop an entire web site using this method due to:

• Human error: Some browsers will correct mistakes in XHTML while others will not; this may cause a web page that looks fine to the creator to appear very sloppy to visitors
• Time consumption: The lack of any automation in a text editor can cause the simplest of tasks to take hours
• Uniformity: XHTML code appears the same as text, making it difficult to edit
• Manual entry: The need to input every command by hand can increase the time devoted to basic tasks even further

MacDonald explains that web editing software can be expensive but is often worth the investment. He describes the different types of web editors, which include:

• Text-based: Similar to a text editor but with automation built in
• Split window: A separate will render XHTML into a finished page as the author types
• What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG): The author will format the page and the program will generate the supporting XHTML code on the back end, works very much like a word processor such as Microsoft Word

MacDonald then discusses the different options for web editing software. He begins by discussing the free options, which include

• Nvu: An open source program based on Mozilla Firefox, the features include split-level XHTML and WYSISYG views
• Amaya: A freeware program adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium (the organization that sets internet standards), it contains many tools and views which can lead to confusion
• HTML-Kit: Does not have a WYSIWYG editor, but a plug-in can provide technical assistance of XHTML matters
• CoffeeCup: A Windows product, there is a free version available but it does not include the WYSIWYG option

MacDonald then discusses how intense competition among professional web editors has narrowed the field to just 2 top-tier choices. These include

• Adobe Dreamweaver: This is the favorite of XHTML experts and graphics designers, it allows users to fine-tune virtually every element of the XHTML code
• Microsoft Expression Web: Features a seamless WYSIWYG mode that duplicates many features of Microsoft Word

After reading all of the descriptions in the book, I still most likely would have opted for Adobe Dreamweaver, but it was enlightening to see all of the different options out there. While working through the exercises I found the WYSIWYG mode to be very difficult, so it would seem that I am making the mental association between XHTML and creating web sites. I certainly found it much easier to input the code in Dreamweaver and I look forward to discovering the full capabilities of the software.

Website Reviews

http://www.w3.org/

The W3 Consortium website is low on decoration and high on informative content, which I find to be rather pleasing. The toolbars on either side of the main content certainly has the potential to be distracting, but the consortium did it just right. This site is certainly a good example of what to do on the internet

http://www.w3schools.com/default.asp

Like the main page, the W3Schools page is very well-designed. While very minimal, it utilizes the same substance over style presentation that worked so well on the home page. The tutorials I found very informative as well. I just glanced at them but did see an explanation of one aspect of XHTML I was wondering about. This is definitely a good page for anyone who works with web sites to bookmark for future reference.

Final Thoughts

The desire for home is very powerful in us all. The internet adds a new dimension to this ancient longing. This new tool brings us the ability to build a home that the whole world can visit. If it is properly leveraged, then we can use it to make the all the people of the world our family. We are not so different, us the inhabitants of planet Earth. We all want that place to call home, and in various ways many of us go looking for it. But like Dorothy, so often we come to find that we never even left.

Until next time, take care of yourselves, and one another.

Farley