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Web publishing
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How do I go about publishing my paradox files on the web ?
Posted: 4 Aug 03
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[Corel document made publicly available for Pdox 8]
Basic publishing
There are two ways to publish Web documents: Static and Dynamic.
Static Web publishing converts the content you want to publish to HTML. Data is retrieved from a database and placed in an HTML file. Static documents represent snapshots of the data content at the time of publishing.
Dynamic Web publishing automatically builds a template of the report or table when it is published. All necessary information about the report or table is stored in the Corel Web Server Repository. Dynamic documents are produced on request and contain the most up-to-date information at the time of request.
Corel Web Server acts as an intermediary between Web browsers and compatible applications (such as IntraBuilder and Corel® Paradox®) to transfer requests and responses between them. It checks whether the requested published document is static or dynamic, handles the static documents and gets a request handler to process the dynamic requests. It's available as an executable as well as an ActiveX control.
Publishing tables and reports
Corel® Paradox® 8 simplifies the process of publishing to the Web by providing easy-to-use Experts. Tables and reports can be published statically and dynamically.
Publishing Tables
1.Open the table.
2.Click File, Publish to HTML.
3.Follow the steps in the HTML Table Expert†.
The HTML Table Expert reads data stored in a Corel Paradox 8 table,
converts it to HTML format, adding the appropriate HTML tags and
parameters automatically. You can modify the resulting HTML
document as you would any other HTML document.
Publishing Reports
1.Open the report.
2.Click File, Publish to HTML.
3.Follow the steps in the HTML Report Expert†.
The HTML Report Expert helps you convert a report to an HTML text file so that you can publish the report on the Web. The Expert adds the appropriate HTML tags and parameters automatically. You can modify the resulting HTML document as you would any other HTML document.
† In the final step, the expert asks you how the document should be published and prompts you for a filename to be given to the HTML document. Corel Web Server is case-sensitive, so make sure you note the exact filename used when saving documents. If you choose static publishing, HTML files are created in the directory set by the Base path configuration parameter. If you choose dynamic publishing, a template for the document is created and stored along with other related information in
the Web repository. A physical file is not created. It is generated on the fly at the time of request.
Using Corel Web Server
You must have a TCP/IP network connection for the Corel Web Server to function properly.
Setup : Choose Corel Web Server from the Start menu. By default, it is placed in the Accessories submenu of the Corel® Paradox® 8 program group.
The Corel Web Server icon appears on the Windows® 95 Taskbar. It is active and ready to receive browser requests.
Configuration : Right-click the Corel Web Server icon to open a menu with options for viewing connections and settings properties.
Server properties : control how the Corel Web Server handles connections.
HTTP Port
The port at which the server listens for connections. No two servers can
have the same port on the same machine. Values are 1 – 32767
(Default = 80).
Min Ready Connections
The number of threads to prepare for connection at startup and keep waiting after startup. The number must be equal to or less than Max Connections. A higher number speeds connections but uses much more memory. Values are 0–255 (Default = 25).
Max Connections
Total number of connections allowed at one moment. Values are 1 – 255 (Default = 100).
Connection Timeout
The number of seconds to wait before issuing a time-out and breaking the connection. This property is used in both reading requests and sending responses. It also specifies how long to keep a keep-alive connection open. Values are 1 – 600 (Default = 30).
Keep Alive Connections
Allow Keep Alive Connections. If enabled, a request is permitted to keep the connection open. This allows a browser quicker access on its second request; it doesn't need to wait for a connection to
open. Enabling Allow Keep Alive Connections uses up more of the server's available connections.
Max Requests Per Connection
The number of request/response transactions allowed for each keep-alive connection (if Allow Keep Alive Connections is enabled). Values are 1 – 1024 (Default = 5).
Pages properties : indicate the location of Web pages accessed by the Corel Web Server.
Base Path
The root directory where the Web pages are stored. For security reasons, don't use your own root directory. Choose a directory with subdirectories that users are allowed to access.
Default Page
The default Web page name in each directory.
Footer Page
The full path for an optional page with the information to appear at the bottom of each transferred page.
Header Page
The full path for an optional page with the information to appear at the top of each transferred page.
Logging properties : indicate whether you want to keep log files of connections and
transactions and, if so, the names of the log files.
Access Logging
These settings enable and name a log file that indicates who connected to the server. The access log file is written in Common Log Format.
Enable Access Logging
When enabled, logs connection history to a file in Common Log Format.
Access File Name
The name of the access log file.
Debug Logging
These settings enable and name a debug log file of debug information for transactions handled by the server.
Enable Debug Logging
When enabled, logs debug information for transactions to a file for later tracing and debugging.
Debug File Name
The name of the Debug Log file where transaction records are stored for later tracing and debugging.
The log includes the buffer received from the browser, the buffer sent to the browser and a dump of the variables from both the request and response.
MIME properties are records in the Corel Web Server MIME Types database.
Add
Displays the New MIME Type dialog box where you can enter a file extension with associated media type and subtype.
Extension
The extension used for a certain media type (for example, TXT).
MIME Type
The main media type associated with an extension (for example, TXT).
MIME Subtype
The category of the main media type associated with an extension (for example, plain).
Edit
Displays the Change MIME Type dialog box where you can change the MIME Type or MIME Subtype associated with the selected extension.
Remove
Deletes the selected extension's record.
Status properties control client identification detail and status display.
Enable Client Name Lookup
When enabled, attempts to convert an IP address to an Internet machine name. This task takes more time than when Enable Client Name Lookup is disabled, but more connection information is obtained.
Enable Server Status Bar
When enabled, the server status bar shows information about the current status of the server and its connections. Enable Server Status Bar must be checked before these updates are made; but the updates are independent of other properties.
Show Active Connections
When enabled, active threads appear in the server list (state = New/Recv, Processing, Sending).
Show Completed Connections
When enabled, completed thread connections (status = Dead) appear in the server list.
Number of Completed Connections
If Show Completed Connections is enabled the number of connections with "status = Dead" are displayed in the Corel Web Server connection list.
About Web Servers and HTTP
Typically, the browser or Web client requests a document from the server and it is displayed. The transfer of documents takes place using HTTP. If the user activates a link in the HTML document, the Web client retrieves and displays the linked document.
HTTP is a stateless request/response protocol. A client sends a request to the server consisting of the request method and document identifier. This is followed by a MIME-like message containing request modifiers and other attributes. The server responds with a status line,
including the message's protocol version and a success or error code.
This is followed by a MIME-like message containing server information and possible entity-body content.
CGI scripts in a nutshell
An HTML document can contain forms which are presented as a collection of fillout fields and an 'action' associated with the form. This 'action' is a reference to a script on the server side that is executed when triggered, typically using a button. When the user finishes filling in the details, he clicks the button triggering the action. The Web client sends this information to the Web server. The server starts the script, the response is prepared, and it is sent back to the client.
Publishing a Form
Corel® Paradox® 8 can also publish a form to a static HTML
document. This feature is useful for creating an exact replica of your Corel Paradox 8 form for use on the Internet, eliminating the need to recreate it in an HTML editor. This feature works best with simple forms
that use text, edit boxes, list boxes, radio buttons or check boxes.
Form objects such as graphics, table frames, crosstabs, notebooks and charts do not translate statically to HTML.
Publishing a Form to an HTML file
1.Open the form.
2.Click File, Publish to HTML.
3.Type a filename.
4.Choose .HTM as the file type from the drop-down list.
5.Click the Save button.
Corel Paradox 8 saves an HTML version of your form that can be viewed by a Web browser.
Note
Corel® Paradox® 8 automatically adds FORM METHOD and ACTION
tags to any form published to HTML. By default the FORM METHOD tag is set to POST and the ACTION is set to the Corel Paradox 8 form object's noise name (e.g., #Form1). To set these properties yourself, change the HTMLMethod property or the HTMLAction property of the form using the Object Explorer.
Corel Paradox 8 also adds a Submit button to static forms published to HTML. For the Submit button to work with the Corel Web Server Control, you must add code to trap the POST action in the OnPostRequest event. For more information, see Processing information from HTML input forms.
Corel Web Server is case-sensitive. Make sure you note the exact filename used when saving documents.
Dynamic Publishing
When a document is published dynamically, an .HTT (HyperText
Template) file is generated and stored along with other necessary data in the Web Repository.
An .HTT file is an HTML file with custom metatags. These tags are Corel Paradox-specific, and are used by the HTML Publishing Engine to produce standard HTML files. HTT files can be viewed as HTML in a browser as-is, although the browser will ignore all occurrences of custom tags. Conceptually, an .HTT file is an intermediary step in the
Internet publishing process. All layout information is defined but metatags are used in place of tables, queries and other database objects.
HTT files are generally used in dynamic publishing where the layout information is known but the actual data needs to be resolved at run time. The dynamic publishing of
Corel Web Server manages .HTT files automatically, so their existence and function is largely transparent to the user. If you are implementing your own dynamic publishing system with the Corel Web Server Control, you can generate .HTT files using File, Publish to HTML for tables, reports and
forms.
Function of the Corel Web Server + publishing engine
When a request arrives at the Corel Web Server, it refers to a lookup table to check if it is a dynamically generated document. If not, it looks for the document in the directory given by the Base path, reads it, and sends it back. If it is a dynamic document it gets reference to the publishing engine, its .HTT file, information about its data sources and the type of document. It makes a request block, sets up the publishing engine and dispatches it to the engine. The publishing engine parses
the .HTT file, replaces custom tags with actual data content from the data sources and forms a new HTML stream. When it is done, this HTML stream goes back to the Web server. The Web server now sends the response back to the client.
The GxPublish DLL is an OLE Automation server that serves as an HTTP request handler registered in the Corel Web Server Repository. This component produces HTML output dynamically from Corel® Paradox® 8 documents.
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