HTML Preprocessor. PPWIZARD includes external files, templates

<BODY> <P><CENTER><IMG SRC="graphics/barbwire.gif" BORDER=0 WIDTH=612 HEIGHT=38 ALT="----------"></CENTER> <P>This site normally uses frames however you can get to all the pages using the links below. <BR><HR> <CENTER><H1>Main Links</H1></CENTER> <table border=0 CELLSPACING=2 CELLPADDING=2 ALIGN=RIGHT> <tr><td align="center"><A HREF="http://www.os2ezine.com/20010616/page_1.html" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="graphics/os2ezine.gif" WIDTH=90 HEIGHT=31 VSPACE=0 BORDER=0 ALT="The Editor: To say I'm spectacularly amazed at how well this works is an understatement. Figuring out how to use it wasn't too difficult, in fact, the new OS/2 eZine is based on one sample from the documentation."></A></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><IMG SRC="graphics/yippee4.gif" WIDTH=77 HEIGHT=52 VSPACE=0 BORDER=0 ALT="Extract of Yippee's Review: Fortunately, for all the effort PPWizard requires it is a hugely flexible and powerful utility that can be of great use to serious web authors everywhere. Recommended. "></td></tr> <tr><td align="center"><A HREF="http://www.nonags.com/" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="graphics/nonags6.gif" WIDTH=65 HEIGHT=50 VSPACE=0 BORDER=0 ALT="Highest rating at NONAGS"></A></td></tr> <tr><td align="center"><A HREF="http://www.webattack.com/get/pphtmlprep.shtml" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="graphics/wa_5star.gif" WIDTH=91 HEIGHT=50 VSPACE=0 BORDER=0 ALT="Highest rating - Editor's Pick!"></A></td></tr></table> <UL> <LI><A HREF="ppw_simp.htm">Introduction to PPWIZARD (HTML PREPROCESSOR)</A> <LI><A HREF="ppwdownl.htm">Download PPWIZARD or PPWIZARD Header Files</A> <LI><A HREF="ppwizard/ppwizard.htm">PPWIZARD's Online Documentation</A> <LI><A HREF="ppwexamp.htm">Advanced Section with Examples</A> <LI><A HREF="ppwusers.htm">Some User's Sites</A> <LI><A HREF="ppwhelp.htm">You can Help PPWIZARD</A> <P> <LI><A HREF="ppwizard.htm">Restore PPWIZARD frames</A> </UL> <p>You may also wish to have a look at my Windows Installer related <A HREF="makemsi.htm">MAKEMSI</A> (built using PPWIZARD) and <A HREF="msidiff.htm">MSIDIFF</A> tools. <BR><HR> <CENTER><H1>Some Background information</H1></CENTER> <P>What is PPWIZARD? It is a free generic text manipulation tool which most people use as a <B>html preprocessor</B>. It is powerful and yet easy to use. If you know what server side includes are then you could think of ppwizard as a "<B>super SSI</B>". Preprocessors allow you to easily include external files (to include html files such as common html headers, footers or navigation) or perhaps to include the result of external commands or SQL queries. They also enable more complex things such as defining email and web addresses in one location and reusing these throughout your site or creating more complex macros which can make decisions for themselves as to how html should be generated. PPWIZARD also allows for data import in various formats (e.g. SQL from a large number of databases including MS Access, CSV, fixed and other formats). While PPWIZARD can be used on a server (CGI etc) it is more frequently used to generate static pages, and unlike SSI there are no server requirements or performance hits. Note that ppwizard can generate static pages for tasks where others might normally need to use dynamic page generation. <P>PPWIZARD's main aims are to be flexible, promote reuse and to allow you to automate just about anything. Common tasks such as the calculation of image sizes for "IMG" tags or the addition of last modified dates and times can easily be automated. One of my add-ons for ppwizard is for automatically creating thumbnails from larger graphics when required. <P>Another advantage is that it allows a webmaster to comment their site as much as they wish and automatically remove these as well as excess leading spaces when the pages are "published" (this leads to better download times as well as encouraging the use of comments and indenting). PPWIZARD leaves html comments alone and by default removes any line that begins with ";" making it much easier to add comments. <P>You will not find a better preprocessor no matter how much money you are prepared to pay! If you look at other preprocessors you will notice that there are no add-ons available. It would be impossible to create most of the add-ons that are available for ppwizard in these tools. Not only is ppwizard the most powerful preprocessor available but I also believe it to be the easiest to use. As a simple example to include a navigation bar you could add the following line to your html code where appropriate: <FONT COLOR=purple><PRE STYLE="color:purple"> #include "NavigationBar.ih" </PRE></FONT> <P>The following shows one way that a simple last modified timestamp footer might be defined (note the leading comment line gets removed): <FONT COLOR=purple><PRE STYLE="color:purple"> ;--- Capture date/time information (DEFAULT format = Sat Jun 29 2002 at 11:09:36am) --- <HR> <CENTER> <P>Last Modified<BR> <?CompileTime> </CENTER> </PRE></FONT> <p>One major point to note about the code above, if you like the format of the date and time and the rest of the footer you would not even have to understand it to use it. To modify existing code for minor tweeks (adding page name or changing time format) is not difficult and all your pages will immediately have been updated! PPWIZARD's documentation includes many common examples and requirements to make it easier to get started. If you still can't work it out then join the ppwizard list described below and ask! <P>Note that ppwizard can actually act as a preprocessor for any type of text files and not just HTML (it is commonly used for rexx development). PPWIZARDS's documentation in IPF, HTML, and CHM (Compiled Windows Help) were built with ppwizard. My <a href="makemsi.htm">MAKEMSI</a> tool is also a complex PPWIZARD application for generating Windows Installer databases and documentation. I also use it for cascading style sheets (CSS), JavaScript and VbScript. PPWIZARD has many options (for example you may not wish leading spaces on lines removed), this allows it to work the way you want not the way I do! <P>More details are listed <A HREF="#SOME_OF_THE_ADVANTAGES">below</A>. My personal opinion is that if you hand code your site you'd be crazy not to use a preprocessor (or at least SSI). If not mine use another but use one! You will be be amazed at how much time you can save. Some long time users of WYSIWYG (graphical) html editors have converted to ppwizard because of the ease of maintaining consistency and to reduce the time required to maintain their web site. Use of a WYSIWYG editor does not necessarily prevent you using ppwizard a lot depends on you, the tool and the ppwizard features you wish to use and how you use it. You may also use WYSIWYG editors to produce reusable fragments and let PPWIZARD combine these as required. There are editors which can be "programmed" to insert ppwizard tags and I have a "notetab" add-on on my download page (if you use NotePad on windows change to NoteTab now! it's free and basically NotePad but heaps better). <p>Depending on your preferences PPWIZARD can be used from a command line or via your operating system's shell (for example Windows Explorer or OS/2 WPS). <P>I have a <A HREF="graphics/ppww32.jpg" TARGET="_blank">screenshot</A> which shows the source for an installation script where macros have been used to hide/implement functionality (generates VBSCRIPT OLE code) overlaid with a ppwizard installation screen under Windows. <P> <TABLE COLS=2 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0> <TR> <TD WIDTH="10%"> <center> <A TARGET="_top" HREF="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/PPWIZARD/join"><img src="graphics/ppwizardforum.gif" border=0 width=124 height=39 HSPACE=10 ALIGN=middle alt="Have your say! Click here to join the PPWIZARD discussion list! No question too simple or too complex."></A> <BR> <A HREF="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/PPWIZARD/messages/?threaded=0" TITLE="You only need to join list to post messages (anyone can view or search them)">View All<BR>Messages</A> </center> </TD> <TD> <P>Join the PPWIZARD discussion group. This is a low traffic list or you can elect to not to receive emails at all (view online in browser)! Only I can see your email address and I won't give it to anyone. I will make PPWIZARD announcements and help answer any questions posed (the answers are usually of interest to others). Note that you can just use your normal email programs and you have no need to access the list site after creating your user information (and therefore you don't need cookies etc). To join simply press the button on the left. Archived messages can be searched (<B>without joining</b>) and it is probably wise to search these before asking a question as this could save you a lot of time. </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P>The <A HREF="ppwizard/opsysstatus.htm" TITLE="More details on what is supported and how well. Want to help me add your operating system?">operating systems that PPWIZARD supports</A> are: <UL> <LI>Windows All version (95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7)<A HREF="regina.htm"><IMG SRC="graphics/needsreg.gif" HSPACE=10 VSPACE=2 ALIGN=middle BORDER=0 WIDTH=52 HEIGHT=12 ALT="FreeWare REGINA Rexx Interpreter is Required "></A> <BR> The Windows installer EXE takes care of the installation. <LI>OS/2 <LI>DOS<A HREF="regina.htm"><IMG SRC="graphics/needsreg.gif" HSPACE=10 VSPACE=2 ALIGN=middle BORDER=0 WIDTH=52 HEIGHT=12 ALT="FreeWare REGINA Rexx Interpreter is Required "></A> <LI>Linux, FreeBSD, SunOS (probably any Unix)<A HREF="regina.htm"><IMG SRC="graphics/needsreg.gif" HSPACE=10 VSPACE=2 ALIGN=middle BORDER=0 WIDTH=52 HEIGHT=12 ALT="FreeWare REGINA Rexx Interpreter is Required "></A> <LI>Macintosh OS X<A HREF="regina.htm"><IMG SRC="graphics/needsreg.gif" HSPACE=10 VSPACE=2 ALIGN=middle BORDER=0 WIDTH=52 HEIGHT=12 ALT="FreeWare REGINA Rexx Interpreter is Required "></A> <LI>BeOS<A HREF="regina.htm"><IMG SRC="graphics/needsreg.gif" HSPACE=10 VSPACE=2 ALIGN=middle BORDER=0 WIDTH=52 HEIGHT=12 ALT="FreeWare REGINA Rexx Interpreter is Required "></A> </UL> <P>You do not have to compile to create binaries as you do for a lot of other tools (the same PPWIZARD runtime runs on all supported operating systems). Regina binaries are available for a large number of UNIX based operating systems, if not then source code is avilable for these). <P> <TABLE BORDER=0 WIDTH="100%"> <TR> <TD BGCOLOR="SILVER"> <P STYLE="text-align:justify"> If you get confused by this page or you just want an introductory or beginners point of view I have set up a <A HREF="ppwizard/begin_g.htm" TITLE="PPWIZARD can be as complex or simple as you require. Just because a feature exists doesn't mean you have to use it! What you can be sure of is that you will not outgrow the capabilities of the tool while you advance!">single page beginners guide</A> which tells you virtually everything you need to get started. </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <A NAME="SOME_OF_THE_ADVANTAGES"></A> <P>The complete and extensive <A HREF="ppwizard/ppwizard.htm" TITLE="This is the HTML version which any browser can view. The CHM or IPF versions have search capability and are recommended for offline use.">PPWIZARD manual is online</A>, however here are a few of the advantages of using PPWIZARD for web development: <UL> <LI><B>A Better SSI</B><BR> SSI can do some things ppwizard can't because it is server based however in general PPWIZARD is much more powerful than SSI and is easier to use. About the only way to reuse code in SSI is to include files, this is a fairly primitive mechanism which ppwizard of course supports but ppwizard can make it simple to reuse much smaller components such as email or web addresses or even more complex things like "style". PPWIZARD does not interfere with SSI if you need to do some of the less common things that SSI does better. Note that unlike "SSI" reuseable components don't have to be exactly the same (or even similar for that matter) from one use to the next. <LI><B>Single point of change</B><BR> Using commands such as <A HREF="ppwizard/hashdefine.htm">#define</A> and <A HREF="ppwizard/hashinclude.htm">#include</A> you can design your pages such that there are no repeated elements. For example even though you may have your email address in hundreds of pages you will only need to make a single change in a single file if it changes. Testing also becomes easier since if one place is wrong they all are (much easier to find a problem). <LI><B>Common look and feel</B><BR> There are many techniques for having common components such as navigation and footers. One method includes using PPWIZARD's template feature. You can also create your own "styles" (without requiring browser style sheet support). <LI><B>Multiple versions of a page</B><BR> Commands such as <A HREF="ppwizard/hashif.htm">#if</A> and macros with mandatory or optional parameters make it easy to set up multiple versions of single pages with ease. For example people are using PPWIZARD to set up framed, unframed and "printer friendly" pages. <LI><B>Remote URL validation</B><BR> PPWIZARD comes with a header file (and stand alone program) which allows ftp and http (web page) validation. This will point out old links that would have caused 404 errors in a browser etc. <LI><B>Tag validation</B><BR> You could set up PPWIZARD to ensure that the number of end table tags matched the number of table tags etc. As you probably know these are common sorts of errors that can prevent correct (or any) display of your pages. <LI><B>Auto sizing images, downloads etc</B><BR> It is very simple to automatically calculate the height and width of images, add current date and time or size of downloads etc. This can also double as a validation method for "local" resources such as images and downloads such that a build will fail (and tell you why) if you specify an incorrect name. <LI><B>Importing data</B><BR> PPWIZARD can read data from many sources including SQL databases, Excel, Lotus 123. <LI><B>Text to html</B><BR> Like all parts of PPWIZARD this is very customisable. There is virtually nothing that can't be modified. <LI><B>FTP LIKE page generation</B><BR> This allows you to have a directory structure which will get converted to a number of FTP like web pages. To make a file available for download all you need to do is add the file to the directory tree. It supports file descriptions and can of course be configured for your sites look and feel. It is extremely customisable though both initial options and through specially named files to affect specific directories or directory trees in particular ways. <LI><B>Reusable Components</B><BR> The PPWIZARD preprocessor is programmable, there are a lot of already built components available such as a sophisticated JavaScript based html or javascript password protection scheme which actually encrypts the information and is very simple to use. A minor variation on this could be used to hide/protect html source code. Of course you may wish to build your own reusable components as well. </UL> <P>This program is used by the online <A TARGET="_top" HREF="http://www.os2ezine.com">e-Zine! magazine</A> and the <A TARGET="_top" HREF="http://www.os2warp.be/index2.php">OS/2 Supersite</A> and others to generate their html. The OS/2 Supersite generates multiple versions of a page (framed, printer friendly etc) from the same source. <P>If you already use a version of PPWIZARD prior to 22.148, then you may wish to examine the <A HREF="ppwizard/changehistory.htm">changes</A> that have taken place. <P><CENTER><IMG SRC="graphics/barbwire.gif" BORDER=0 WIDTH=612 HEIGHT=38 ALT="----------"></CENTER> <CENTER><H2>THE BASICS</H2></CENTER> <P>This pre-processor can be used to <B>generate HTML</B> (and rexx or other) code from source files. It supports commands such as "<B>#include</B>", "<B>#define</B>", "<B>#if</B>" and much more. <P>Just from the commenting point of view, PPWIZARD comments are much easier to use than html ones and blank lines and leading spaces on lines are removed (by default) so that you can space out or indent your html as much as you like but the generated html is compact and fast to download (and people don't see your comments unless you want them to). <P>I maintain two differing homepages (this is one of them) from the same source, all the html you are seeing has been processed/generated by this program. Note that the '#if' processing is very powerful and that you can execute <B>any</B> rexx (or operating system) commands and use the output (all the file sizes and dates where provided were automatically calculated by this program). The #define command supports parameters and conditional generation of code. <P>PPWIZARD has a <B>text to html</B> mode. Unlike other utilities PPWIZARD can easily add standard features such as background, standard headers and footers (the look and feel of your site). It will create hypertext links where possible (by default). If you have any ideas or issues with the initial implementation then be sure to <A HREF="ppwizard/bugs_or_suggestions.htm">tell me</A>. <P>PPWIZARD can be particularly useful for people who like to hand code their html and use a html editor. The use of a GUI based editor does not however rule out PPWIZARD's use and some editors allow you to define your own tags (allowing you to add ppwizards tags and commands). <P>As a rexx preprocessor it allows you to easily create header files of standard routines so that you never need to duplicate source code again! I have made some <A HREF="rexxsrc.htm">source routines</A> available for #include in your programs. Rexx code is <B>packed</B> by default so that your input can contain many comments and be spaced out with most of this being removed from your runtime. <P>I have had a brief introduction to XML, XSL and DTD (and yes I do know what they stand for), it looks to me that ppwizard will become very handy for generating these as well. <P>Note that this program can be used to preprocess virtually any file type and not just as a html preprocessor. <P>Java Script header files for common routines is another possibility. The point is you should never duplicate something, if at all possible only define an item once and reuse it. If you have made a mistake or need to change it then this change can be made in one place and the output regenerated. <P><CENTER><IMG SRC="graphics/barbwire.gif" BORDER=0 WIDTH=612 HEIGHT=38 ALT="----------"></CENTER> <CENTER><H2>TUTORIAL/EXAMPLES</H2></CENTER> <P>The following <IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="graphics/ezine.gif" BORDER=0 WIDTH=100 HEIGHT=40 ALT="EZine"> articles are available, they start from the absolute basics to quite a good implementation of a simple online store: <OL> <LI><A TARGET="_top" HREF="http://www.os2ezine.com/v3n05/htmlpp1.htm">Building Dynamic Web Sites Part 1</A> <LI><A TARGET="_top" HREF="http://www.os2ezine.com/v3n06/htmlpp.htm">Building Dynamic Web Sites Part 2</A> <LI><A TARGET="_top" HREF="http://www.os2ezine.com/v3n12/dyn3.htm">Building Dynamic Web Sites Part 3</A> <LI><A TARGET="_top" HREF="http://www.os2ezine.com/v3n14/dws.htm">Building Dynamic Web Sites Part 4</A> <LI><A TARGET="_top" HREF="http://www.os2ezine.com/v4n3/dws.htm">Building Dynamic Web Sites Part 5 - Widgets & Macros</A> </OL> <A NAME="PPW_VERSUS_ASP_SSI"></A> <P><CENTER><IMG SRC="graphics/barbwire.gif" BORDER=0 WIDTH=612 HEIGHT=38 ALT="----------"></CENTER> <CENTER><H2>PPWIZARD VERSUS ASP, JSP or SSI</H2></CENTER> <P>PPWIZARD can do most of the things that "Active Server Pages" (ASP) and "SERVER SIDE INCLUDES" (SSI) can. Because each approach has it's advantages and disadvantages <B>some people do both</B>, they use ppwizard to do what it does best and leave the rest up to the server. This gives you the best of both worlds: <UL> <LI>A reduction in server resources as ppwizard has generated simpler ASP/JSP/SSI pages. <LI>Ppwizard has been used for what it does best. <LI>ASP/JSP/SSI processing is used where required. </UL> <P>In general ASP/JSP/SSI: <UL> <LI>Uses up extra server resources (disk and CPU time), so your page will be slightly slower to load (or you need to buy bigger servers!). <LI>The testing of generated html has to occur on a server. <LI>Is best for including rapidly changing information from other sources such as SQL databases. <LI>Can detect browser and generate appropriate code. <LI>Reuse of code/definitions is very limited. <LI>It is quite possible that an error (missing file etc) will produce missing content and error messages. We have all seen these messages on small and large sites. <LI>ASP only works on Microsoft Servers. <LI>SSI is not available on all servers (ISP choice etc) and if available may not use same syntax (ie no standard). </UL> <P>In general PPWIZARD: <UL> <LI>Does not use up server resources. <LI>Does not require use of web server for testing generated html. No need to first upload to a test site (or more typical - production site). <LI>Has many more features than SSI. <LI>Can read information from external data sources such as SQL databases or EXCEL spreadsheets however this is best for information that does not change frequently (for example you could rebuild your pages every night as a batch job). <LI>Is extremely flexible in code/source reuse, you can do much more than simply include files. The simple symbolic replacement of frequently used fragments of html/text such as email or web addresses or whole paragraphs and condition generation are two examples. <LI>Has many features which allow automation of many common tasks that people generally manually perform. This typically reduces the errors in a web site. If an error is found it is usually in more than one place (therefore easier to find) and when fixed will not occur again. <LI>Missing files/definitions will be detected by ppwizard and reported, these errors will never occur on the server. </UL> <P>Note that some users are using PPWIZARD to preprocess ASP pages and even to produce many similar ASP pages from templates. <B>PPWIZARD can preprocess any text files, not just HTML!</b> So even if you need ASP, then use PPWIZARD as a "ASP Preprocessor"! </BODY>