Ask Dr. Intranet, 3/30/98

Error 404--Not Found

From RFC 2068 Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1:

10.4.5 404 Not Found

The server has not found anything matching the Request-URI. No indication is given of whether the condition is temporary or permanent.

If the server does not wish to make this information available to the client, the status code 403 (Forbidden) can be used instead. The 410 (Gone) status code SHOULD be used if the server knows, through some internally configurable mechanism, that an old resource is permanently unavailable and has no forwarding address.

Ask Dr. IntraNet
Please step in and lie down, Steve Blass, is in for consultations. He understands the strains felt by people developing and managing intranets. Send your problems to dr.intranet@paranet.com

Q I'm lost, storm-driven and harried. I'm trying to set up a basic intranet, but need some instruction. How do I set up the Windows 95 Hosts file, for example, and how do I configure a Web server and browser to handle Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs. On this latter issue, when submitting a form I am getting responses such as: "Repost form data? (Y/N)'' and that the CGI executable cannot be accessed offline. For the former, hitting either "Y'' or "N'' just repeats the same question.

I also need to know if CommandEnvSize =nnnn, the Windows system.ini entry in NonWindowsApps, affects the memory accessible from the viewpoint of a DOS-based CGI module.
- Dieny du Toit, software developer in Johannesburg, South Africa

A To set up the Windows 95 Hosts file, use Notepad to create a file named "Hosts'' in the Windows directory. In Hosts, you can create lines that contain a dotted decimal IP address followed first by a qualified hostname then by optional aliases. The line items are separated by white space.

As for the CGI issue, it sounds like your browser is telling you that your program is not working on the server side. So first make sure you can run the CGI program from the command line on your server. Then make sure your server will serve CGI by testing it with a known, valid CGI program. Most Web server software comes with CGI samples that work well enough for you to verify that your server will in fact successfully execute CGI programs.

If you are going to use dynamic content seriously, you'll need a Web programming tool. I like Sapphire/Web from Bluestone Software, Inc. because it lets me produce active content in programming languages I don't even know. Plus, it installed correctly on the first try.

Another word of advice: Before you get too far into constructing a patchwork of CGI scripts and forms, take the time to step back and look at the big picture. You don't want to code yourself into a corner. And in response to your last question: No, that system.ini entry doesn't affect the amount of memory accessible. Rather, it sets the size for environment variables used by NonWindowsApps.

Blass is a network architect at Houston-based Sprint Paranet, a distributed computing systems services provider.

Feedback | Network World, Inc. | Sponsor index
How to Advertise | Copyright