This file may be read through as a continuous document, or by choosing one of the internal links (named anchors) that take you directly to a mini chapter.
NOTE: this is a more complete draft of this IP3 Tutorial, Experienced
IP Editors are asked to comment if they notice any points made in error.
The internal link names will change, as will the order in which the mini
chapters appear.
What Install Means
Installation of IP files on CCN is quite a simple process, It just takes a while to learn all the little wrinkles... It is made more difficult, because until you are approved, you cannot gain access to the IP directory to look around or practice.
We now have a learning and assessment directory where a prospecitve IPE can go to practice the Install and Edit skills in advance.
What does Install mean? To be an IPE, you must have a CCN account and personal home directory. Install is the method you use to copy files from your home directory into your IP directory for public display. In effect, you copy files in your personal disk space, and pass them through a barrier into CCN's disk space that it has set aside for your IP directory.
It is also the process of re-Installing files you have since modified in your own personal directory. The procedure is the same.
Install cannot take place until the IP has already been approved, the IP directory has been made, and the IP Editor has completed training and has been granted editing privileges for that directory.
Install is easy and simple. Highlight the file in your home directory that you want to Install, press Shift-I, and you will be presented with a Directory name in which to place or Install the file. IPEs who manage more than one directory will see all of those directories displayed, and must select the correct one. With your cursor on the correct one, press Enter, and you should receive a message that the Install has been successful.
AN EXAMPLE
Here I wish to Install the file 199596.html in the Snooker
IP directory:
..............................................
Current directory is /ccn/Home/00/ac200/Pool
[1]Up to ac200
Files
45K Jun 6 10:56 [199596.html]
0K Oct 19 1995 index.html
..............................................
When I press Shift-I with the cursor on the filename, I receive the following menu choice with one highlighted item.
..............................................
Choose a destination directory
[SportFit/Snooker]
..............................................
All I do is press Enter, and after a short pause a message quickly flashes at the bottom of the screen, saying Installation is satisfactory.
If you are IP for several directories, all will be displayed. Move your cursor to highlight the correct one. and proceed as above.
..............................................
Choose a destination directory
Services/IPsupport
Services/Training
Services/Training/Materials
Services/Training/Staff
SportFit/CIAU
[SportFit/Snooker]
..............................................
Avoid carelessly Installing a file in the wrong directory.
But if you do, just repeat the Install for the correct directory,
then you must go to the directory structure to remove the
file Installed in the wrong directory, and its associated RCS file.
Updating Files with Install
When you attempt to Install, the system recalls your logon ID, and knows which Directories you are allowed to Edit. Sometimes the system is a bit flaky, and no directory names appear. Not too bad if your update can wait until you next log on to CCN. It should work then.
It is a quirk in the little file that keeps your login ID and matches it with your IP directory.
But if you must Install new material right now, your only recourse is
to log off CCN, wait your 2 minutes, and log on again to let the system
RCS (Revison Control System)
IPs and IPEs fear two rather deadly things; losing all their
files, and having another IPE ruin their work. So, they want
to be sure of two things:
1. They need a backup system for all their files and hard work
2. They need to prevent IPEs from messing each others' files.
Large Unix systems such as CCN often have a built in file control system, like RCS. A team of people may have access to edit files. The RCS prevents them from ruining each others' work, and keeps backup copies in case anything happens to the current files.
Many IPs have only a single IPE, but the same rules apply. The same RCS software is used, regardless. The same procedure is followed.
The essence of RCS is you only work on a copy of the Installed file. Before working on it, as you press e to Edit, you in effect make a copy, to check out and work on.
Visitors can still read the original while you edit the copy. But, nobody else can open and modify that Installed file while you are editing the copy.
When you're done editing, you check your copy back in, where it replaces the original file with your new material.
Comments are entered into a log when you check the copy back in.
File Locking
When you access one of your IP files and press e to Edit, RCS locks the existing file. It locks everyone else out, so no-one will be able to edit it until you again save the file with ^X. That unlocks it.
If you use ^X and do not save a revised file, RCS does not make any changes to the original, and simply unlocks the original file.
But when you save it after having made changes, RCS puts the copy in the IP directory in place of the old file, and also places a copy in the RCS/ directory, complete with a ,v added to the name, and include version information at the top.
If you later learn you have messed up a file while revising it,
you can always go get one of the CCN Editors to go back and recover
the previous version from the RCS/ directory for you.
Comment lines
When you first Install a file, RCS automatically places some comments at the top of the file on two or more lines above the html tag.
Each time you Edit and Install a revised file, those comments are changed to provide current details.
The first line above is simply a standard mailto: link to the mailing list for the page's IPEs. A visitor can send a comment to them by simply pressing Shift-C while in the file. This activates the mailto:
The second line is a fomal comment line showing the current Revision
Control data.
First, it gives the name of the backup file in RCS/ [womens.html,v]
Second, it gived the version number [1.96]
Third, it gives the date and time the RCS file was saved
Fourth, it gives the CCN account ID of the IP Editor [ac200]
When the next revision is made, the version number and the save date and time are updated, as shown next.
When you edit a file after accessing it through the CCN home and second pages, RCS controls the process. You press e for Edit to begin. When finished you press ^X to save, and confirm the file name, then lines like these appear at the bottom of the screen:
........................................................
RCS/womens.html,v <-- womens.html
new revision: 1.98; previous revision: 1.97
enter log message, terminated with single '.' or end of file:
>>
........................................................
Here you are asked to make a comment, that will appear in the top of the RCS version of the file. If you make several revisions, RCS maintains a list of them, but without comment notes you will later have no idea what was done when.
At the cursor line you enter a brief note of what editing you did, press Enter, then type a period, then press Enter.
........................................................
RCS/womens.html,v <-- womens.html
new revision: 1.98; previous revision: 1.97
enter log message, terminated with single '.' or end of file:
>> Changed name National team
>> .
........................................................
Here we typed in the note [Changed name National team], pressed ENTER, then at the next prompt pressed the PERIOD key, then pressed ENTER again.
Watch carefully for the revison message to confirm your file was
updated. It quickly flashes across the screen.
Your own Comment Lines
You can also place your own comment lines in the file. This is very important if there are two or more IP Editors. It is necessary to leave these notes for each other so each will know what has already been changed,
........................................................
<link rev="made" href="mailto:ip-ciau@ccn.cs.dal.ca">
<!-- womens.html,v 1.99 1996/05/27 09:45:19 ac200 -->
<html>
<!-- Changed name of National team link May 27 REA -->
<H3>CIAU Womens Basketball</H3>
Last Saved: 1996/05/27 09:45:19 GMT ac200
........................................................
Here is what the actual screen looks like to a visitor.
........................................................
CIAU Womens Basketball
Last Saved: 1996/05/27 09:45:19 GMT ac200
* Regular Season Scores and PLAYOFFS
* Season Standings
* National Polls
* Womens CHEERS RPI
* Pre Season Exhibition Games
* Invitational Tournaments
* Individual Statistics
* Awards and All Stars
* Team Rosters
* Team Home Pages
* National Team
........................................................
The comment is not visible. Beware, however that certain visitors will see your comment if they realize they may choose to view the source code.
........................................................
<!-- Changed name of National team link May 27 -->
<!-- and deleted the old material on the tryout schedules -->
<!-- and added the new National Team roster announced. REA -->
........................................................
This above is an example of the recommended way of placing long
comments that are on more than one line. Put the comment codes
around each line. Some browsers do not handle comments that wrap
to another line.
Date Stamping files
In the comment lines at the top of an Installed file,
you will have noticed information like:
1996/05/28 13:32:10 ac200
You can also place this same info somewhere in the body of your file so visitors will know when the file has been last updated. They can be placed at the bottom for general files, and at the top of files where visitors will want to be sure they are getting very up-to-date information like sports results, that may be updated several times a day.. The system fills in the Date Stamp and Author information automatically, each time the file is Saved or Installed.
The author information is useful if another person takes over editing of that file, and viewers should know about it.
To create your Time Stamp code, type or paste in the following line, without the " " of course. I had to put them in to prevent the system from simply stamping the date here.:
Last updated "$"Date: "$" GMT "$"Author: "$"
The GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time, to alert viewers in various time zones that the time stamped is not their local time, nor our local time AST or ADT.
When someone visits your file, they will see that line displayed something like this:
Last updated 1996/05/28 13:32:10 GMT ac200
Note that this only works for the files already Installed
in your IP directory.
Viewing your IP Directories
There are four ways to view your intallation,
THE SITE URL
The URL by which others outside CCN can reach your
page looks like this example:
http://www.ccn.cs.dal.ca/Recreation/Snooker/
The home page of this directory is called index.html, which the system automatically accesses first. If you use index.html, giving the directory path is enough, no need to name the file as well. It makes for a shorter URL.
If your home file has another name, then you must include that file name in the URL. Put your URL in a bookmark to test it before giving it out to others. Visitors will see the actual page like this:
.................... snipped example ..........................
THE SNOOKER PAGE
Last Update: Sep 4 95 9:30am
The Snooker Page is compiled and maintained by Bob Adams, a
non-playing fan, with assistance from the executive of the Nova Scotia
Snooker and Pool Associations, and from some of the top players. The
Snooker Page is provided through the resources of Chebucto Community
Net in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
_________________________________________________________________
* Nova Scotia SNOOKER & POOL 1995/96 ...now empty
* Nova Scotia SNOOKER & POOL 1994/95
* Nova Scotia SNOOKER Pre 1994/95
__________________________________________________
Some World Wide Web sites for other Snooker information
* Pool & Billiards Frequently Asked Questions
* Dutch Snooker
* World Snooker Archive
* WWW Snooker
* Other Snooker Links ...assembled in Bermuda
....................................................................
THE IP JUMP KEY
YOUR EDITING URL
In order to access the files to edit them, you also need
a URL like this in your bookmark file:
file://localhost/ccn/info/Recreation/Snooker/
When you first access it after installing your files, you will see something like this.
........... snipped example ......................
Current directory is /ccn/info/Recreation/Snooker
Up to Recreation
25K Sep 4 08:29 199495.html
25K Sep 4 08:29 199495.html~
1K Sep 4 08:29 199596.html
1K Sep 4 08:29 199596.html~
3K Sep 4 10:22 index.html
3K Sep 4 10:22 index.html~
13K Sep 4 08:29 prior95.html
13K Sep 4 08:29 prior95.html~
Sep 6 13:58 RCS/
..................................................
You will find all your installed files are duplicated, with the copy having a tilde ~ after the file name.
This is temporary. The duplicates should disappear by themselves in a few days. They are only there as an automatic backup in case you delete one of your files while installing. You can remove the ones marked with the tilde if you find they are cluttering up your drectory display.
The directory RCS/ at the bottom of the example is for the Revision Control System. Click on it and you will see something like this from another example:
........... snipped example ......................
Current directory is /ccn/info/Recreation/CIAU/RCS
Up to CIAU
3K Sep 5 18:27 champs.html,v
2K Sep 5 18:27 index.html,v
14K Sep 5 18:27 MensIndiv95.html,v
39K Sep 5 18:27 MensScores95.html,v
17K Sep 5 18:27 MensTeam95.html,v
...................................................
This is the official backup directory for your IP. The ,v added to each name stands for version. Every time you update or edit a document after installation, the RCS will keep an updated copy on file at all times.
In the event you accidentally delete a file you didn't want to, get one of the CCN Editors to go into RCS/ to find the right version, and install it for you in your IP directory.
Here is a link to a large set of files you can use to study a directory structure with many files in a single directory. Spend some time in it, look into the RCS/ directory, and peek into some of the ,v files to see how versions are recorded. The home page is tc-home.html.
This one has many subdirectories to keep files organized, but involves longer paths and more typing.
Because of its material, this directory has large files with internal links using named anchors.
Message ... Writeable File Exists
Sometimes when trying to edit, you may receive a message saying "Writeable file Exists", and you are asked if you want to remove it.
Writeable file exists means RCS has the file marked as checked out for editing. It cannot be checked out again.
This could mean two editors trying to work on the same file at the same time.
It also could mean the file did not get checked back in after the last edit. That may happen when you get bumped off=line by accident or by going over your logon time limit.
The file you are working on does not get properly filed into the RCS. When you return to continue editing the file, RCS encounters this pseudo-file, named identically to the RCS version of the file you are editing. But, it is not properly coded for RCS storage. So, the system asks if this file is good enough to continue with.
RCS is asking whether you want to use this file, or another of a different name.
Just tell RCS to delete the Writeable File, then you
can just carry on editing the original, the real file.
Installing a Batch of Files
This will only be of interest to you the IPE if you have a large number of files in a subdirectory and want to Install all of them as a batch to a subdirectory of the same name in your IP directory.
I had received a bunch of research from someone at University of Regina on 170 CIAU basketball All-Canadians since 1969-70.
I organized the material in 170 tiny individual files that I stored in my home directory in a subdirectory /Stars
They were to be Installed in a directory named /Stars in my SportFit/CIAU IP directory.
All 170 were linked to an index file AllCdn.html in my User home directory. I thoroughly tested all the links here, where changes were easy. All the links were relative or partial links, so all the files would be workable as soon as they arrived in the new location.
First, I Installed AllCdn.html to SportFit/CIAU
Then I used a file/localhost link to view the IP directory listing for SportFit/CIAU. and created a subdirectory /Star
Returning to my User home directory, I entered /Star
With the cursor on the first file, I pressed Shift-I and watched for the appearance of SportFit/CIAU/Star among the directory names in which I could Install.
.................... snipped example .....................
Choose a destination directory
[1]Culture/MCM
[2]Services/Training/Materials
[3]SportFit/CIAU
[4]SportFit/Snooker
..........................................................
Because SportFit/CIAU/Star was not yet there, I backed out, intending to try later. The Install procedure sometimes takes a while to register a new directory for Installation. I checked a couple more times.
.................... snipped example .....................
Choose a destination directory
[1]Culture/MCM
[2]Services/Training/Materials
[3]SportFit/CIAU
[4]SportFit/CIAU/Star
[5]SportFit/Snooker
..........................................................
When I checked later and saw SportFit/CIAU/Star there, I again backed out, then proceeded to mark each of the 170 files with a t for Tag command, leaving a + mark.
................. snipped example ................... Files + 1K Aug 5 09:35 [1]aBeason.html + 1K Aug 2 08:32 [2]aJessamy.html + 1K Aug 5 09:33 [3]bBleich.html + 1K Aug 2 08:32 [4]bBurnett.html + 1K Aug 2 08:32 [5]bCoulthard.html + 1K Aug 2 08:32 [6]bDeGeufe.html + 1K Aug 2 08:33 [7]bDempster.html + 1K Aug 2 08:33 [8]bHann.html .....................................................
Then I pressed Shift-I again, and selected SportFit/CIAU/Star as the destination directory. This time the message at the bottom of the screen stayed the same for about 6 minutes, then suddenly flashed away. The tags were all removed from my files in /Star
Then I returned to the IP directory listing and entered /CIAU/Star to find all the files there, each with its ~ tilde backup.
I checked into /CIAU/Star/RCS, and there was the ,v backup for each of the 170 Installed files. What a time saver!
Now, I could go back to /CIAU/Star and remove all the ~ tilde
versions, or simply leave them sitting there until they
disappear in a week or so when the system is ready to
automatically remove them.
Zipping a batch of files
Batching files to download
Occasionally IPEs will want to copy a large number of files to their own computer. It may be to revise all the files off-line, or simply to take a copy of each off-line for safe keeping after several have been edited on-line.
On CCN, this is done by compressing many small files into one big one, that is then downloaded as a single step. I recently compressed and downloaded 170 small files from a directory /Star in my home directory.
First, I put the cursor on the directory /Star
Then I pressed f for File Management, and selected:
Package and compress (using zip)
There are 3 choices, 7, 8 and 9 below, but I chose zip because I have a utility on my computer for unzipping the files when they arrive.
................. snipped example ................... [5]Change Location (of current selection) [6]Remove (current selection) [7]Tar (current selection) [8]Tar and compress (using GNU gzip) ***[9]Package and compress (using zip) [10]Make publically readable (current selection) .....................................................
As soon as I made the choice, Lynx quickly zipped 170 files into a single file called Star.zip. It took on the name of the directory.
................. snipped example ...................
0K Mar 26 1995 [25]signature
3K Jun 17 08:25 [26]soccerLINKS.html
*** 68K Aug 2 18:16 [27]Star.zip
7K Jun 16 11:54 [28]reportjun16.html
10K May 28 16:13 [29]swim.html
.....................................................
Then I downloaded Star.zip to my own computer.
I download everything to Ram:, but could easily have designated another directory for downloads to be stored.
When I looked at the file (in Ram:) it was 5 directories deep, because the zip utility read in the full pathname of my home directory, ccn/home/00/ac200/Star
So my 170 individual files were deep in the directory:
Ram Disk:ccn/home/00/ac200/Star>
I next entered the path name to take me in to the directory
Star, then at the prompt typed:
4.Ram Disk:ccn/home/00/ac200/Star> unzip Star.zip
Last, I copied the unzipped files over to a suitable directory on my hard drive.
You can also zip up a number of files on your own computer, into a single compressed file, and upload it in one step.
I compressed a number of reworked files into a file called Star2.zip, and uploaded it to an empty directory called /Star
With the cursor on Star2.zip, pressing f for File Management brought up a new menu item, Uncompress.
................. snipped example ................... [5]Change Location (of current selection) [6]Remove (current selection) ***[7]Uncompress (current selection) [8]Tar (current selection) [9]Tar and compress (using GNU gzip) [10]Package and compress (using zip) [11]Make publically readable (current selection) .....................................................
The menu item Uncompress only appears when the cursor is on a .zip file. I tried other compression types like .zoo and .lharc but the menu item Uncompress did not appear when the cursor was on them.
But with the cursor on a .zip file, you press f, then move the cursor to [Uncompress (current selection)], press Enter, and the .zip file immediately uncompresses and places all its individual files into the current directory. The .zip file remains there intact.
It is wise to Uncompress the .zip file in an empty directory where the unzipped files will not be mingled with many other existing files.
The many individual files are now ready to test in your personal directory, then Install to the IP directory where they will reside.
On occasion a .zip file that was Installed to an IP Directory was uncompressed on arrival there. However, we have not been able to make this happen. To uncompress a .zip file there defeats the purpose of RCS becaue it does not produce the necessary RCS ,v backup files.
Compressing many tiny files to upload them as a single file is a great time saver.