Installing a WWW Homepage

Notice to non-local readers: These instructions are meant for those faculty, staff, and postgradutates with accounts on our local UNIX machines. Currently these machines are:- Hobbit, Gucis and Enterprise. The procedures described below in general will work on most apache based servers, not we provide no gurantee of this. Contact your local webmaster for information regarding setting up your own homepages on your system.

NOTE: Student Server has restricted access
The purpose of the student web server is NOT to provide students with world accessable webpages, but to provide them a place where they can study using web clients, languages, and web projects. As such the server is restricted to access from within Griffith University, and some Australian ISP providers. More specific information can also be found on the Gucis Home Page OR by contactng the CIT webmaster.

The following can be a security hazard, before attempting the following you should know and understand the use of the UNIX commands `chmod' and `umask' particularly with regard to `other users'. If you are unsure or require help PLEASE contact one of the system programmers to get you a helping hand. (Via the help desk, Room 1.34 Technology Building)

How to create your own page

Clean up your home directory. This is vital to prevent users accessing things that they should not be accessing. Create appropriate sub-directories, and set the correct file permissions (chmod) for all files in your home directory. Especially your dot files. NOTE: Neglecting this step can be a security hazard and open your account attacks by other users.
Again if you are unsure please contact one of the system programmers to help you. We are here for you!
The following command will ensure that only you can access any file in your own home directory (including the dot files).
```
   chmod -R go= ~ 
```
Ensure that the following 'umask' is set by your dot files.
```
   umask 77 
```
This prevents any new files you create in the future from being readable to anyone who has access to your home directory. Until you use the 'chmod' command to say otherwise (such as a new webpage).
Make your home directory open to the user ''apache'' which is the user the WWW server is when it accesses your home directory WWW area.
```
   chmod o+x ~ 
```
The above allows anyone not in your usergroup to 'access' your home directory but not 'read' or 'list' the contents of your home directory.
Create your WWW home directory which must be called "public_html" for our machines in Science and Technology. This name could be different for different WWW servers on other machines in the world.
```
   mkdir ~/public_html 
```
Make this directory also accessable by anyone with access to your home, especially the web server so it can serve the files in this directory.
```
   chmod 755 ~/public_html 
```
Now actually create your WWW Home Page in that sub-directory.
The main file in your WWW home pages is called "index.html" (in the "public_html" sub-directory). This file must be in a special formated language simular to the TeX processing language known as the HyperText Markup Language, or more generally called 'HTML'. For more information on creating your first web document, see the document 'Writing HTML'.
Just use your favoriate text editor to edit the file. Many higher level editors allow you to create and edit HTML files without the need to actually know the Hypertext Markup Language.
Set the permission of your "index.html" (and any other file you refer to in your "public_html" directory) to be readable by all (permissions 644) and sub-directories accessable by all (permissions 755). To automate this look at the shell script near the end of this document.
```
   chmod 644 ~/public_html/*.html 
```
The following will make EVERYTHING in your "public_html" directory accessable to the web server and thus to the world.
```
    find ~/public_html -type f -print0 | xargs -0 chmod 644
    find ~/public_html -type d -print0 | xargs -0 chmod 755 
```
Once this is done, the School's WWW Information server will automatically know about your new home page and will display it in the 'User Supplied Home Pages' generated listings on that server.
NOTE: You may however have to use the ''reload'' command of your WWW browser program to re-update this list when checking for your new home.
If your call your top level index html file "index.htm" instead then you will have a top level index page BUT your home page will also NOT be listed in the 'User Supplied Home Pages' list.
NOTE: A "index.shtml" file (index file with 'Server Side Includes') will be listed in 'User Supplied Home Pages' list. For more information on 'Server Side Includes' I refer you to the Apache Server Documentation

Other files you can create

There are other special files you can create in your WWW home page directory. A template of these files can be found in the directory "/opt/info/www_home/" on kurango, if you have not already copied them.

A couple of programs used in the School Information Server looks for files of these names. In particualar the ''User Supplied Home Pages'' know about the following html documents. These are...

index.html

This is the file you should have created above which is your initial actual home page. If this page is not present, any files in you WWW area will still be available to the world, but your home pages will not be listed in the automatic user home pages list, or in any personal information list. If you do want a hidden home page I recomend that you call you initial home page "home.html" instead of "index.html" (suggestion only not nessary).

comment.html

If present, the contents of this file is included in the ''User Home Page Listing'' output for your entry.

This file must contain only a couple of lines of information about your home page. Do not place anything too fancy or large in this line, just a short description about what your homepage is supposed to provide to the network.

As this file is `included' into a larger HTML document, it should NOT contain any header tags (like <HTML>, <TITLE>, <BODY> etc), or footers, just a couple of lines of HTML text.

Small images are ok, as is font color and size changes. As long as it is ''in moderation'' and ALL your tags are properly closed. All images (small ones ok) should also include WIDTH and HEIGHT tags.

Testing your home page

When finished please ensure that all the files you create in your WWW area are readable by the user ''nobody'' or the file will never be seen by web users.

You are now ready to try out your page. To test, simply start a netscape (or other) WWW client and go to the right User Supplied Home Pages for that machine (see above). If you did everything properly you name should appear on the list of home page available. Use the ''reload'' command of your WWW client to reread this list if needed.

More Information

The document, 'Writing HTML contains information on creating your HTML documents. Also included in is file is information on:-

Many Links to begineers guides on Writing HTML documents.

Using the locally supplied WWW images.

How to refer (link) to other staff members.

Final Note -- Home Permissions

As your home is now semi-open to others it is important to have your home directory permissions set correctly and ensure that they remain correct. The following is one (optional) method which I use. I supply it here as a suggestion which can make your life easier in this regard.

I have a small private (only I can run) shell script to set ALL the permissions within my home directory. I then run this when ever I have made lots of changes or want to ensure all permissions are correct.

Given the above the following shell script is a bare bones script to re-set your home directory permissions correct. Please modify to suit your needs.


#!/bin/sh
#
# Reset your home directory permissions correctly
# You should expand this script and run it regularly to
# 'lock down' your home directory permissions.
#
cd
chmod -R go= $HOME
find public_html -type d -print0 | xargs -0 chmod 755
find public_html -type f -print0 | xargs -0 chmod 644
chmod 711 .

Or for a more complex shell script allowing greater flexablility and and modification to set permissions of ALL your home directories.


#!/bin/sh
#
# Reset your home directory permissions correctly
#
cd              # go home
x="-n5"         # options to xargs
l="-AF1"        # options to ls
c="-f"          # options to chmod (not on sgi's)

chmod 711 .     # home directory settings

# Close all the upper level directories and files to anyone else
ls $l | sed '/[^\/]$/d; s/\/$//'  | xargs $x chmod $c 700  # upper directories
ls $l | sed '/[\/]$/d; s/\*$//'   | xargs $x chmod $c 600  # upper files
chmod $c 644 .plan .project .forward 2>/dev/null   # open certain dot files
chmod $c 755 public_html   # open the public directories


# some subroutines
directories()  { find "$@" -type d -print0; }              # set directories
allfiles()     { find "$@" -type f -print0; }              # all plain files
executables()  { find "$@" -type f -perm -100 -print0; }   # executables only
datafiles()    { find "$@" -type f ! -perm -100 -print0; } # non executables

# Open and set WWW directory
if [ -d public_html ]; then
  directories public_html | xargs -0 $x chmod $c 755 # directories  - accessable
  datafiles   public_html | xargs -0 $x chmod $c 644 # data         - readable
  executables public_html | xargs -0 $x chmod $c 755 # executables  - executable
fi