174 lines
9.5 KiB
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174 lines
9.5 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
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<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9">
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<TITLE>Linux WWW HOWTO : Setting up WWW server systems</TITLE>
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<LINK HREF="WWW-HOWTO-7.html" REL=next>
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<LINK HREF="WWW-HOWTO-5.html" REL=previous>
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<LINK HREF="WWW-HOWTO.html#toc6" REL=contents>
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<A HREF="WWW-HOWTO-7.html">Next</A>
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<A HREF="WWW-HOWTO.html#toc6">Contents</A>
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<HR>
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<H2><A NAME="s6">6. Setting up WWW server systems</A></H2>
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<P>This section contains information on different http server software
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packages and additional server side tools like script languages for
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CGI programs etc. There are several dozen web servers, I only covered those
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that are fully functional. As some of these are commercial products,
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I have no way of trying
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them. Most of the information in the overview section was pieced together
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from various web sites.
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If there is any incorrect or missing information please let me know.
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<P>For a technical description on the http mechanism, take a look at
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the RFC documents mentioned in the chapter "For further reading" of
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this HOWTO.
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<P>I prefer to use the Apache server. It has almost all the features you would
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ever need and its free! I will admit that this section is heavily biased
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toward Apache. I decided to concentrate my efforts on the Apache section
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rather than spread it out over all the web servers. I may cover other web
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servers in the future.
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<P>
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<P>
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss6.1">6.1 Overview</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<DL>
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<DT><B>Cern httpd</B><DD><P>This was the first web server. It was developed by the
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European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN). CERN httpd is no longer
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supported. The CERN httpd server
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is reported to have some ugly bugs, to be quite slow and resource hungry.
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The latest version is 3.0. For more information visit the CERN httpd home
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page at
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<A HREF="http://www.w3.org/Daemon/Status.html">http://www.w3.org/Daemon/Status.html</A>.
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It is available for download at
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<A HREF="ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/www/servers/httpd-3.0.term.tpz">ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/www/servers/httpd-3.0.term.tpz</A>
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(no it is not a typo, the extension is actually .tpz on the site; probably
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should be .tgz)
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<P>
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<DT><B>NCSA HTTPd</B><DD><P>The NCSA HTTPd server is the father to Apache (The
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development split into two different servers). Therefore the setup files
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are very similar. NCSA HTTPd is free and the source code is available.
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This server not covered in this document, although
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reading the Apache section may give you some help. The NCSA server was once
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popular, but most people are replacing it with Apache. Apache is a drop in
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replacement for the NCSA server(same configuration files), and it fixes several
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shortcomings of the NCSA server. NCSA HTTPd accounts for 4.9% (and
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falling) of all web servers. (source September 1997
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<A HREF="http://www.netcraft.com/survey/">Netcraft survey</A>).
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The latest version is 1.5.2a. For
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more information see the NCSA website at
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<A HREF="http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu">http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu</A>.
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<P>
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<DT><B>
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<A HREF="WWW-HOWTO-7.html#apache">Apache</A></B><DD><P>Apache is the king of all web
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servers. Apache and its source code is free. Apache is modular, therefore
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it is easy to add features. Apache is very flexible and has many, many
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features. Apache
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and its derivatives makes up 44% of all web domains (50% if you count all
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the derivatives).
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There are over 695,000 Apache servers in operation (source November 1997
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<A HREF="http://www.netcraft.com/survey/">Netcraft survey</A>).
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<P>The official Apache is missing SSL, but there are two
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derivatives that fill the gap. Stronghold is a commercial product that is
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based on Apache. It retails for $995; an economy version is available for
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$495 (based on an old version of Apache). Stronghold is the number two
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secure server behind Netscape (source
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<A HREF="http://www.c2.net/products/stronghold">C2 net</A> and
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<A HREF="http://www.netcraft.com/survey/">Netcraft survey</A>).
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For more information visit the Stronghold website at
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<A HREF="http://www.c2.net/products/stronghold/">http://www.c2.net/products/stronghold/</A>. It was developed
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outside the US, so it is available with 128 bit SSL everywhere.
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<P>Apache-SSL is a free implementation of SSL, but it is not for commercial use
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in the US (RSA has US patents on SSL technology). It can be used for
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non-commercial use in the US if you link with the free RSAREF library. For
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more information see the website at
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<A HREF="http://www.algroup.co.uk/Apache-SSL/">http://www.algroup.co.uk/Apache-SSL/</A>.
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<P>
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<DT><B>Netscape Fast Track Server</B><DD><P>Fast Track was developed by Netscape, but the
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Linux version is put out by Caldera. The Caldera site lists it as Fast
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Track for OpenLinux. I'm not sure if it only runs on Caldera OpenLinux or
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if any Linux distribution will do (E-mail me if you have the answer).
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Netscape servers account for 11.5% (and falling) of all web servers (source
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September 1997
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<A HREF="http://www.netcraft.com/survey/">http://www.netcraft.com/survey/</A>).
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The server sells for $295. It is also included with the Caldera OpenLinux
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Standard distribution which sells for $399 ($199.50 educational). The web
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pages tell of a nice administration interface and
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a quick 10 minute setup. The server has support for 40-bit SSL.
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To get the full 128-bit SSL you need
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Netscape Enterprise Server. Unfortunately that is not available for Linux :(
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The latest version available for Linux is 2.0 (Version 3 is in beta, but its
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not available for Linux yet).
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To buy a copy goto the Caldera web site at
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<A HREF="http://www.caldera.com/products/netscape/netscape.html">http://www.caldera.com/products/netscape/netscape.html</A>
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For more information goto the Fast Track page at
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<A HREF="http://www.netscape.com/comprod/server_central/product/fast_track/">http://www.netscape.com/comprod/server_central/product/fast_track/</A><P>
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<P>
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<DT><B>WN</B><DD><P>WN has many features that make it attractive. First it is smaller
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than the CERN, NCSA HTTPd, an Apache servers. It also has many built-in
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features that would require CGI's. For example site searches, enhanced
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server side includes. It can also decompress/compress files on the fly
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with its filter feature. It also has the ability to retrieve only part of a
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file with its ranges feature. It is released under the GNU public license.
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The current version is 1.18.3. For more information see the WN website at
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<A HREF="http://hopf.math.nwu.edu/">http://hopf.math.nwu.edu/</A>.
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<P>
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<DT><B>AOLserver</B><DD><P>AOLserver is made by America Online. I'll admit that I
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was surprised by the features of a web server coming from AOL. In addition
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to the standard features it supports database connectivity. Pages can query
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a database by Structured Query Language (SQL) commands. The database is
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access through Open Database Connectivity (ODBC). It also has built-in
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search engine and TCL scripting. If that is not enough you can add your own
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modules through the c Application Programming Interface (API). I almost
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forgot to mention support for 40 bit SSL. And you get all this for free!
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For more information visit the AOLserver site at
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<A HREF="http://www.aolserver.com/server/">http://www.aolserver.com/server/</A><P>
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<DT><B>Zeus Server</B><DD><P>Zeus Server was developed by Zeus Technology. They claim
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that they are the fastest web server (using WebSpec96 benchmark). The
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server can be configured and controlled from a web browser! It can limit processor and memory
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resources for CGI's, and it executes them in a secure environment (whatever
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that means). It also supports unlimited virtual servers. It sells for $999
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for the standard version. If you want the secure server (SSL) the price jumps
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to $1699. They are based outside the US so 128 bit SSL is available
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everywhere. For more information visit the Zeus Technology website at
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<A HREF="http://www.zeus.co.uk">http://www.zeus.co.uk</A>. The US website is at
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<A HREF="http://www.zeus.com">http://www.zeus.com</A>.
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I'll warn you they are cocky about the
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fastest web server thing. But they don't even show up under top web servers
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in the Netcraft Surveys.
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<P>
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<DT><B>CL-HTTP</B><DD><P>CL-HTTP stands for Common Lisp Hypermedia Server. If you are
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a Lisp programmer this server is for you. You can write your CGI scripts in
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Lisp. It has a web based setup function. It also supports all the standard
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server features. CL-HTTP is free and the source code is available.
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For more information visit the CL-HTTP website at
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<A HREF="http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/iiip/doc/cl-http/home-page.html">http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/iiip/doc/cl-http/home-page.html</A>
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(could they make that url any longer?).
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</DL>
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<P>If you have a commercial purpose (company web site, or ISP), I would
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strongly recommend that you use Apache. If you are looking for easy setup at the
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expense of advanced features then the Zeus Server wins hands down. I've
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also heard that the Netscape Server is easy to setup.
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If you have an internal use you can be a bit more flexible.
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But unless one of them has a feature that you just have to use, I
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would still recommend using one of the three above.
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<P>This is only a partial listing of all the servers available. For a more
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complete list visit Netcraft at
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<A HREF="http://www.netcraft.com/survey/servers.html">http://www.netcraft.com/survey/servers.html</A> or Web Compare at
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<A HREF="http://webcompare.internet.com">http://webcompare.internet.com</A>.
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<P>
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<P>
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<P>
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<HR>
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<A HREF="WWW-HOWTO-7.html">Next</A>
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<A HREF="WWW-HOWTO-5.html">Previous</A>
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<A HREF="WWW-HOWTO.html#toc6">Contents</A>
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