DynaWeb configuration parameters are specified in the file /usr/lib/Insight/dweb/data/config/dynaweb.cfg.tmpl, which is called the DynaWeb configuration file. Some of these configuration parameters, such as the hostname and server port, are defined when the server is installed and are unlikely to need changing. Many of the other configuration parameters have default values that rarely or never need to be changed.
The major sections in this chapter are:
![]() | Note: Whenever you change the configuration file, the changes do not take effect until you restart the DynaWeb server. See the section “Running DynaWeb as a Process” in Chapter 2 for instructions. |
Configuration parameters appear in the file dynaweb.cfg.tmpl in any order. They have this syntax:
parameter_name = value |
parameter_name is a configuration parameter. The section “Summary of Configuration Parameters” in this chapter lists all configuration parameters. value is a constant, a string, a pathname, or a variable. Variables have the form %%name%%, where name is either BOOKSHELVES (which stands for InSight bookshelves) or LOCALHOST (which is the hostname of the server).
Lines in dynaweb.cfg.tmpl that begin with a pound sign (#) are comment lines. For example, you can comment out a configuration parameter by inserting a pound sign before it, for example:
#DWEB_OKBUTTON ... |
To increase the readability of dynaweb.cfg.tmpl, parameters can be specified on multiple lines by ending each line except the last with a backslash (\), for example:
DWEB_COLLECTIONS = @%%BOOKSHELVES%%; \
@ebtbooks=All EBT books
|
Table 3-1 is an alphabetical list of the DynaWeb configuration parameters. It includes the default value of each parameter and, for most parameters, the name of a section later in the chapter that provides more information about the parameter.
Table 3-1. Configuration Parameters
Configuration Parameter | Default Value and |
|---|---|
DWEB_ACCESSLOG | |
DWEB_ACCESSLOGPATH | /usr/lib/Insight/dweb/logs/access_log |
DWEB_ADMINISTRATOR | webmaster |
DWEB_ALTTEXTSTYLES | (commented out) |
DWEB_ALTTOCSTYLES | (commented out) |
DWEB_AUTH_SERVICE | /usr/lib/Insight/dweb/data/security/full.auth |
DWEB_BODYATTRIBUTES | BGCOLOR=”efefef” |
DWEB_BOOKBUTTON | /icons/button_book.gif |
DWEB_BOOKDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_book.gif |
DWEB_BOOKICON | /icons/book.gif |
DWEB_BOOKLABEL | Books |
DWEB_BUTTONSPACER | /icons/button_spacer.gif |
DWEB_CGIBINDIR | /usr/lib/Insight/dweb/cgi-bin |
DWEB_CGIMAGIC | /DWEB-CGI |
DWEB_CLEARBUTTON | /icons/button_clear.gif |
DWEB_CLEARDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_clear.gif |
DWEB_CLEARLABEL | Clear Search |
DWEB_CLRSRCHBUTTON | /icons/button_clear2.gif |
DWEB_CLRSRCHLABEL | Clear Search |
DWEB_COLLAPSEBUTTON | /icons/button_collapse.gif |
DWEB_COLLAPSEDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_collapse.gif |
DWEB_COLLAPSELABEL | Collapse |
DWEB_COLLECTBUTTON | /icons/button_collect.gif |
DWEB_COLLECTDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_collect.gif |
DWEB_COLLECTIONICON | /icons/collection.gif |
DWEB_COLLECTIONS | %%BOOKSHELVES%% |
DWEB_COLLECTLABEL | Collections |
DWEB_COLLECTMAGIC | /DWEB-COLLECTIONS |
DWEB_CONFIRM | |
DWEB_DATA_DIR | |
DWEB_DIRICON | /icons/dir.gif |
DWEB_DYNAVERSEBUTTON | /icons/button_sgi.gif |
DWEB_DYNAVERSELABEL | SGI |
DWEB_DYNAVERSELINK | http://www.sgi.com |
DWEB_ENGINE | /usr/lib/Insight/dweb/bin/dwsgml2html |
DWEB_ERRORLOG | |
DWEB_ERRORLOGPATH | /usr/lib/Insight/dweb/logs/error_log |
DWEB_EXPANDBUTTON | /icons/button_expand.gif |
DWEB_EXPANDDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_expand.gif |
DWEB_EXPANDLABEL | Expand |
DWEB_FILEICON | /icons/file.gif |
DWEB_FORMSBUTTON | /icons/button_forms.gif |
DWEB_FORMSDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_forms.gif |
DWEB_FORMSLABEL | Queries |
DWEB_FORMSMAGIC | /DWEB-FORMS |
DWEB_FORMSPECMAGIC | /DWEB-FORMSPEC |
DWEB_HELPBUTTON | /icons/button_help.gif |
DWEB_HELPLABEL | Help |
DWEB_HELPTEXT | /docs/dw_help.html |
DWEB_HOMEBUTTON | /icons/button_home.gif |
DWEB_HOMELABEL | Home |
DWEB_HOMEPAGE | /docs/homepage.html |
DWEB_HOST | %%LOCALHOST%% |
DWEB_HOST_ACL | (commented out) |
DWEB_INLINENEXTHITICON | /icons/inline_nexthit.gif |
DWEB_INLINENEXTHITTEXT | |
DWEB_INLINEPREVHITICON | /icons/inline_prevhit.gif |
DWEB_INLINEPREVHITTEXT | |
DWEB_LOCALE | |
DWEB_MAXBYTES | |
DWEB_MAXCOLLECTIONS | |
DWEB_MINITOCS | |
DWEB_NEXTBUTTON | /icons/button_next.gif |
DWEB_NEXTDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_next.gif |
DWEB_NEXTHITBUTTON | /icons/button_nexthit.gif |
DWEB_NEXTHITDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_nexthit.gif |
DWEB_NEXTHITLABEL | >> |
DWEB_NEXTLABEL | Next |
DWEB_OKBUTTON | /icons/button_ok.gif |
DWEB_OKLABEL | OK |
DWEB_PASSWD_FILE | (commented out) |
DWEB_PORT | |
DWEB_PREVBUTTON | /icons/button_prev.gif |
DWEB_PREVDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_prev.gif |
DWEB_PREVHITBUTTON | /icons/button_prevhit.gif |
DWEB_PREVHITDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_prevhit.gif |
DWEB_PREVHITLABEL | << |
DWEB_PREVLABEL | Prev |
DWEB_PRIVATE_DIR | |
DWEB_PUBLIC_DIR | |
DWEB_PUBSBUTTON | (commented out) |
DWEB_PUBSBUTTONPAGE | (commented out) |
DWEB_PUBSLABEL | (commented out) |
DWEB_PUBSMAGIC | /DWEB-PUBS |
DWEB_PUBVARS | (commented out) |
DWEB_ROOTDIR | /usr/lib/Insight/dweb/servroot |
DWEB_SEARCHFIELD | |
DWEB_SEARCHHITLINE_0 | Search for text produced no hits |
DWEB_SEARCHHITLINE_1 | Search for text produced 1 hit |
DWEB_SEARCHHITLINE_N | Search for text produced n hits |
DWEB_SEARCHLABEL | |
DWEB_SEARCHMESSAGE | Search for text |
DWEB_SHOWMISSES | |
DWEB_STYLESBUTTON | /icons/button_styles.gif |
DWEB_STYLESDIMBTN | /icons/dimbtn_styles.gif |
DWEB_STYLESLABEL | Styles |
DWEB_STYLESMAGIC | (commented out) |
DWEB_TEXTBBARMODE | |
DWEB_TOCBBARMODE | |
DWEB_TOCBUTTON | /icons/button_toc.gif |
DWEB_TOCLABEL | TOC |
DWEB_TOCLINEBUTTONMODE | ICON |
DWEB_TOCLINEEMPTY | /icons/toclineempty.gif |
DWEB_TOCLINEMINUS | /icons/toclineminus.gif |
DWEB_TOCLINEPLUS | /icons/toclineplus.gif |
The dynaweb.cfg.tmpl file contains the following installation parameters:
| DWEB_ADMINISTRATOR |
| |
| DWEB_AUTH_SERVICE |
For information about authentication on DynaWeb servers, see “Administering HTTP Authentication” in Chapter 2. | |
| DWEB_ENGINE |
| |
| DWEB_HOST |
| |
| DWEB_PORT |
Any port below 1024 requires root permission, so the server must run as a superuser in order to access one of these ports. | |
| DWEB_ROOTDIR |
|
The collections parameters identify and list collections.
| DWEB_COLLECTIONS |
coll_dir is the pathname of the collection and coll_title is a brief description of the collection that is meaningful to client users. They are specified in one of these ways or as a combination of these ways:
Multiple collection pathnames or symbolic links can be added by separating each collection from the others with a semicolon, for example:
| ||||||
| DWEB_COLLECTMAGIC |
| ||||||
| DWEB_MAXCOLLECTIONS |
|
DynaWeb supports an access log file and an error log file. By default, the server logs information to both files. The locations of the files are specified by the DWEB_ACCESSLOGPATH and DWEB_ERRORLOGPATH configuration parameters. However, you can turn off either or both kinds of logging, by setting DWEB_ACCESSLOG and/or DWEB_ERRRORLOG to OFF.
The access log file is fully compatible with the HTTPD convention. This allows you to use any of the available filtering tools for NCSA or CERN servers. Such tools can extract useful statistics such as the total number of accesses, the number of requests, and the type of information requested.
The publisher page parameters are
| DWEB_PUBSMAGIC |
This parameter is attached to the “Pubs” button. | ||
| DWEB_PUBSBUTTONPAGE |
| ||
| DWEB_PUBSVARS |
The template phrase $CITY, $STATE $ZIPCODE becomes Mountain View, CA 94043. See Chapter 4, “Templates for Server Pages,” for more information about templates. |
The Common Gateway Interface parameters control the use of CGI scripts. They are
| DWEB_CGIBINDIR |
| |||
| DWEB_CGIMAGIC |
To execute a CGI script, the URL must contain /DWEB-CGI after the host and port, for example:
|
The maximum bytes parameters control the number of bytes sent per transfer and the behavior of the server if this number is exceeded.
| DWEB_MAXBYTES |
The default value for DWEB_MAXBYTES is 30000 bytes. The minimum value is 5000 bytes. | |
| DWEB_CONFIRM |
|
DynaWeb icons are used in directory, collection, or book lists to indicate the type of information associated with a name. Some are used as inline markers. Most are used on control buttons, either on the TOC-View button bar or the Text-View button bar.
The icon, button, and marker parameters specify the location of the DynaWeb icons (the pathnames) relative to the servroot directory and include a leading slash (/).
Several inactive, transparent-background icons are used to identify elements of directories and collections. The configuration parameters that specify these icons are
| DWEB_BOOKICON |
| |
| DWEB_DIRICON |
| |
| DWEB_FILEICON |
| |
| DWEB_COLLECTIONICON |
| |
| DWEB_BOOKBUTTON and DWEB_BOOKDIMBTN |
| |
| DWEB_CLEARBUTTON and DWEB_CLEARDIMBTN |
| |
| DWEB_COLLAPSEBUTTON and DWEB_COLLAPSEDIMBTN |
| |
| DWEB_COLLECTBUTTON and DWEB_COLLECTDIMBTN |
| |
| DWEB_EXPANDBUTTON and DWEB_EXPANDDIMBTN |
| |
| DWEB_PUBSBUTTON |
| |
| DWEB_HELPBUTTON |
| |
| DWEB_HOMEBUTTON |
| |
| DWEB_FORMSBUTTON and DWEB_FORMSDIMBTN |
|
The Text-View buttons are
| DWEB_CLRSRCHBUTTON |
| |
| DWEB_NEXTHIT BUTTON and DWEB_NEXTHITDIMBTN |
| |
| DWEB_NEXTBUTTON and DWEB_NEXTDIMBTN |
| |
| DWEB_PREVHITBUTTON and DWEB_PREVHITDIMBTN |
| |
| DWEB_PREVBUTTON and DWEB_PREVDIMBTN |
| |
| DWEB_TOCBUTTON |
|
The search-hit markers that appear around each search result are controlled by the server configuration file. However, the form of marker used depends on the value of DWEB_TEXTBBARMODE (see the section “Forms of Button Bars and Search-Hit Markers” in this chapter). Search-hit markers are either present and active, or absent. The search-hit markers are
| DWEB_INLINEPREVHITICON |
| |
| DWEB_INLINEPREVHITTEXT |
| |
| DWEB_INLINENEXTHITICON |
| |
| DWEB_INLINENEXTHITTEXT |
|
The OK button is displayed when user confirmation is required. The OK button configuration parameter is DWEB_OKBUTTON.
For the button bars and for the search-hit markers, you can choose to display buttons or markers as either icons or as labels within square brackets. The configuration parameters that control this are
| DWEB_TOCBBARMODE |
| |
| DWEB_TEXTBARMODE |
| |
| DWEB_TOCLINEBUTTONMODE |
|
The possible values are
| ICON | The server generates the button bar containing iconified buttons and transmits the icons to the client, which caches them for the duration of the user's session. | |
| TEXT | The server generates the button bar containing textual buttons. Each button is represented by its label inside square brackets, for example [Home]. |
By default, most buttons are dimmed when inactive. The dimmed icons are specified by configuration parameters whose names end in DIMBTN. If you decide to use your own icons and do not have dimmed versions of them, you have two choices:
Comment out the DIMBTN version of the icon configuration parameter. For example, if you do not have a dimmed version of the DWEB_CLEARBUTTON icon, comment out DWEB_CLEARDIMBTN:
#DWEB_CLEARDIMBTN |
When the DIMBTN configuration parameter is commented out, the corresponding button disappears when it is unavailable and reappears when it can be selected again.
Do nothing. The button isn't dimmed, but it is not active or “hot.”
An unavailable icon causes no problem for the server (though it may for the client users). If the .gif file of an icon is corrupt or nonexistent, most browsers display a broken-icon picture, but the button operates as usual. You can disable a button by commenting it out.
If an icon is disabled, but has a text value assigned to it as a label, the text string is supplied in place of the icon.
![]() | Note: You are never required to change the icons. However, you or a publisher can replace them with proprietary icons. Before replacing any icons, you or the publisher should copy the original icons into a backup directory, and document your icons for your users. |
DynaWeb is built with System Integration Toolkit (SIT) functions. These require a DynaText browser license and several DynaText directory parameters. To accommodate SIT, dynaweb.cfg.tmpl defines several directory parameters that represent data, public, and private directories that SIT expects to find. However, DynaWeb does not require these directories, so it uses the /tmp directory instead.
The configuration parameters are
| DWEB_DATA_DIR |
| |
| DWEB_PUBLIC_DIR |
| |
| DWEB_PRIVATE_DIR |
|
The HTTP authentication process used by DynaWeb is controlled through the use of two parameters located in dynaweb.cfg.tmpl. These two parameters are DWEB_PASSWD_FILE and DWEB_HOST_ACL. When DynaWeb is first installed, these parameters are commented out in the configuration file.
| DWEB_PASSWD_FILE |
| ||||
| DWEB_HOST_ACL |
|
The value of this parameter is a list of individual hostnames and regular expressions that make up a complete list of the clients that are able to access the server. Each value is separated by a blank space, and can contain both regular expressions and the boolean “not” expression, signified by a “!”. Table 3-2 lists modifiers used in DWEB_HOST_ACL.
Table 3-2. Modifiers in DWEB_HOST_ACL
Modifier | Meaning |
|---|---|
* | Matches any character or set of characters until a space is encountered. |
? | Matches any single character. |
! | Hostnames with a ! in front of them are not allowed to access the server. |
Since the wildcard * is equal to all hostnames, this means that all hosts are allowed access. This is necessary if you wish to allow full access to your server from the Internet, because you have no way to determine ahead of time who will access your server. To deny access to all hosts but the ones you specify, remove the * and replace it with the names of the hosts you want. Wildcards can be combined with partial hostnames to allow or disallow groups of clients. For example, DWEB_HOST_ACL = *.company.com allows any user from company.com to access your server.
You can also use the exclamation point (!) to name a specific host or group of hosts you do not want to access the server. If we add a ! to the example above, (DWEB_HOST_AUTH = !*.company.com), this has the effect of not allowing anyone from company.com to browse the server, for example:
| DWEB_HOST_ACL = * |
| |
| DWEB_HOST_ACL = *.first.com *.second.com |
| |
| DWEB_HOST_ACL = !*.first.com * |
|
The inclusion of wildcards makes the list very flexible as to who you can allow or disallow.
When DynaWeb checks the list for authentication, it starts at the front and parses the list until it finds a match. It then stops checking and grants or denies access. This means that if you deny a group access, and then decide to grant one member of that group access, you need to mention that this user has access before you deny access to the group. When listing values, work from the most specific to the most general.
For example, you currently allow everyone to access your server. The configuration file reads
DWEB_HOST_ACL = * |
You wish to deny your competitor access to your server, so you add the competitor's domain to the control list and use the exclamation point to deny access:
DWEB_HOST_ACL = * !*.competitor.com |
Unfortunately, this syntax does not deny the competitor access. As the parser checks the list from left to right, the first thing it encounters is the asterisk, which matches any hostname by definition. Since the parser has found an entry that it can match to the host requesting access, it stops looking and accepts the request. The parser never encounters the qualifying statement of !*.competitor.com, which would have denied access to this particular requestor. Since * is allowed access, verification takes place. A good rule of thumb when dealing with the HOST_ACL parameter is to start with the specific and end with the generic. If the qualifier was placed before the asterisk, the parser would have recognized the domain name of competitor.com and denied access.
| DWEB_BODYATTRIBUTES |
| |
| DWEB_BUTTONSPACER |
| |
| DWEB_DYNAVERSEBUTTON |
| |
| DWEB_DYNAVERSELINK |
| |
| DWEB_FORMSMAGIC |
| |
| DWEB_FORMSPECMAGIC |
| |
| DWEB_LOCALE |
| |
| DWEB_MINITOCS |
The values of DWEB_MINITOCS are
| |
| DWEB_SEARCHFIELD |
| |
| DWEB_SEARCHLABEL |
| |
| DWEB_SHOWMISSES |
| |
| DWEB_STYLESMAGIC |
|