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Support Page
Server Side Include
- Introduction
- What is SSI?
- Using SSI
- SSI Commands
- Additional SSI Variables
- SSI Sample Commands
- Enabling SSI
- REFERENCES
Introduction
Every Web server operates in the same basic mode: accept a connection from a client, validate the access, retrieve a document, and send it to the client. This model worked well when the Web was in its infancy and simply delivering a document was adequate enough for all involved. Nowadays, delivering the same document to many people has become passé. Customized content is more desired. This means that the document is altered each time it is accessed. In the new operating mode, the "retrieve a document" step is followed by the "insert custom content" step. The custom results are then sent to the client.
To create custom content, make document an executable program, working within the Common Gateway Protocol (CGI) mechanism. With CGI, each URL on your server runs a program that generates a completely customized document. While the content may be personalized, such programs can be an overkill for most applications.
In general, most Webmasters want to take a standard document and insert a few bits of information here and there. For them, a Server Side Include is just the right thing.
As the name implies, text is included in the document on the server side before the document is shipped back to the client. For the most part, the document is static. The insertion points are marked with special HTML comments that indicate the kind of data to be inserted. The server inspects each document, looking for the special comments. When one is found, the comment is removed and the desired content is inserted in its place. From the client's perspective, the document appears to have contained the text from the very beginning, with all traces of the special comments having been removed by the server.
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