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Untangling_Spaghetti_HTML
| Untangling Spaghetti HTML
Untangling Spaghetti HTML ========================= by Sunil
Tanna, EBookCompiler.com
When I was first learning to write computer programs, one of the
most important points that was drummed into me was that it's
never a good idea to write great chunks of computer code that
are repetitions of earlier code. The reason is simple: when it
comes time to update the code, you'll have a tough time making
the same change in each copy, and you'll have an even tougher
time making sure that each changed copy has been modified in the
same way.
Why this digression into programming lore? If you create web
sites , there is a good chance that, at least most of the time,
you don't think of your HTML files as "computer code". You
probably think of them as content, documents, my writing... etc.
But the truth is they are. You need only open an HTML file in a
plain text editor, and you can see the HTML language.
So the question is, can the same spaghetti problem arise with
HTML code? If you've been a webmaster for a while, you probably
already know the answer... absolutely. The typical web site
contains lot of repeated elements.
For example, you may have the same heading or footer on each
page. You might have a search box or banner code on each page.
You might have the same menu down the side.
Updating all these multiple copies of the same HTML code in
different files quickly gets tiresome. Even if you haven't
encountered the update-problem yet, as your projects grow larger
and larger, you soon will.
HOW TO AVOID SPAGHETTI?
One answer is the various "include" mechanism that HTML
technologies provide:
1. Server Side Includes (SSI)
This technology is implemented on many web sites, and basically
allows you to include a common fragment of HTML code (stored in
a separate file) into as many HTML pages as you want. The
advantage is that instead of updating each file individually,
you only need update the common fragment once.
Here's how:
* On most web servers, you simply rename your HTML files (the
ones that are doing the including) with a .shtml extension.
* Where you want to include the common fragment of code use a
line like:
[!--#include file="fragment.html" --]
IMPORTANT: Because some email programs don't display
greater-than and less-than signs properly, I've used square
brackets, but when you copy this line make sure to change the
brackets to greater-than and less-than signs. If you prefer to
see the code online, (and displayed correctly), go to:
http://www.suniltanna.com/spaghetti.html
2. ASP Includes
For NT web servers, in .asp pages, you can the exact same
include syntax as for SSI.
3. PHP Includes
If your web site supports PHP (a script language that runs on
the server), another way to achieve the same thing is to use the
PHP include command.
Here's how:
* Rename your HTML files (the ones that are doing the including)
with a .php extension.
* Where you want to include the common fragment of code use a
line like:
[?php include 'fragment.php' ; ?]
IMPORTANT: Again the same point about the brackets applies. If
you prefer to see the code online, (and displayed correctly), go
to: http://www.suniltanna.com/spaghetti.html
NO THROUGH ROAD HITHER?
Right, so this all sounds fantastic, problem solved?
Not so fast... While these are powerful techniques they also
have drawbacks and limitations:
1. Most web design programs don't know anything about these
types of includes. This means you have to work in a text editor
on the raw HTML code, manually chopping up your files into
fragments, and inserting the include commands into the HTML
code. Worse yet, once you've done it, it's quite possible your
web design program won't allow you to make any further changes.
2. For the web server based technologies (SSI, ASP, PHP),
firstly not every web site supports these facilities, and
secondly, they do put extra processing load on your web server.
For most small sites, the extra load is not going to make a
difference, but if you have a very busy site, it could be the
straw that broke the camel's back.
3. Even if you can live with the first two problems, there's
still some major issues: Includes can help resolve the spaghetti
problem on new projects, but what about projects you've already
completed and want to update? What about if you plan on using
Includes, but didn't realize at the start that something was a
common fragment? What about if the fragment of code you want to
replace was something that's too small to bother including every
time (like a font name, or a single-word spelling-mistake, or an
affiliate link)?
So, at best, Includes can help, but they are far from a panacea.
AN ALTERNATE APPROACH...
If I finished the article at this point, you'd probably think I
had merely told you (or reminded you!) about a nagging problem,
but left you with no solution.
Fortunately there is one, and it's a good one. At the beginning
of this piece, I reminded you that HTML files are really text
files containing HTML computer code. This means you can use
text-editing tools to manipulate individual files, or better
yet, all your files in one go.
A good Find and Replace program will update all your files
easily and very quickly. Better yet, you don't need to be a
programmer, and you don't need to understand the intricacies of
the HTML language - it's easy enough for anyone. Another
advantage is that unlike editing files manually, there is no
possibility of it making a mistake on page number 342 of 427.
While there are many Find and Replace programs on the market,
it's best to get one that is specifically designed for HTML
files. For this reason, I'd recommend Alias Find and Replace,
which you can get from: http://www.aliassoftware.com/
This is a nice Windows-based program with a lot of powerful
features, but is also easy to use. There's even a free trial
download, so you can try out the program at no risk.
Once you've got the program, you can use it to make global
changes across all (or a selection of) your HTML files, stick
with plain HTML (and never worry about the spaghetti issue
again!), or use it as a stepping stone towards the Include
method.
A FINAL THOUGHT
What many people don't realize when they first create a web
site, is that as much or more work can go into updating it, as
in writing in the first place.
Updating can be particularly painful (and time consuming) if you
don't plan ahead, and you do everything manually. So plan ahead,
use the techniques and tools I've shown you in this article, and
you'll be surprised how much easier the update process can be.
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Copyright, S. Tanna, webmaster and publisher of
EBookCompiler.com Create your own E-Books that you can give away
free to drive massive traffic to your web site, or sell for
profit. Download a FREE copy of the software today at:
http://www.ebookcompiler.com/
About the author:
Copyright, S. Tanna, webmaster and publisher of
EBookCompiler.com Create your own E-Books that you can give away
free to drive massive traffic to your web site, or sell for
profit. Download a FREE copy of the software today at:
http://www.ebookcompiler.com/
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