Truman Week: Web Lab

This is a lab exercise that has you figuring out how to set up a web page on sand.truman.edu, the place that Math/CS students can create web pages. When you have successfully completed this lab you will have a simple web page on sand.

Getting Started

1. Login to a computer, which will connect you to the Truman Student image. This is (at least should be) the same image that you see when you log in from any Truman computer on campus (in the library, in the VH 2000 lab, in your dorm, . . .). You can set up your personal computer to connect to this image as well, although that is not subject of today's lab.
2. Click on Start ==> All Programs ==> TightVNC ==> TightVNC Viewer, then enter sand.truman.edu as the name of the TightVNC Server. At the login dialog, type your Truman username and password (the same one you used to login in the first place).
3. You are now logged into sand, the Math/CS department Linux server that also is used as a web server. Choose Applications ==> Accessories ==> Terminal (you may have to scroll down to find this) to start a command terminal. By default this terminal is running BASH, which is a common Linux shell language. You will learn a few simple BASH commands today, but many more are available. One important fact to be aware of is that Linux is case-sensitive, so be sure to use the exact capitalization that you are given. Notice that the prompt you see looks something like:

   vh222004:~$

   For the rest of this lab, I will indicate the prompt using just a dollar sign ($). (So don't type the dollar sign at the beginning of the commands that follow.)
4. Type

   $ ls -l

   to see a directory listing. You may not have many files at this point. Type

   $ mkdir public_html

   to create your top level web directory. Before we can get web pages to work we also have to change the protections on a few directories and files. For now this is just a magic incantation that you need to do to make everything work. Type

   $ chmod o+x .

   (note the very small period (dot) at the end of this command) while still connected to your home directory. Then type

   $ cd public_html

   to connect to the web directory that you created earlier. In this directory type

   $ chmod o+rx .

   (another dot here)

5. Choose Applications ==> Internet ==> Firefox to open my favorite web browser. Go to the class web page in this browser, then connect again to this lab page. It will just be easier to do everything from sand at this point.

   Use the web browser to download index.html and localstyle.css to your public_html directory by right clicking, and choosing Save Link As... Be sure to call the first file index.html and the second localstyle.css You may need to change the permissions on these files as you did with the directories. chmod o+r index.html for example.

6. Use a text editor to edit and modify these two files. Unless you are already comfortable with Emacs or VI or some other high-powered text editor, I recommend that you start with gedit. To start gedit choose Applications ==> Accessories ==> gedit Text Editor then choose Open and navigate to the index.html file.
7. I want you to personalize and change the two files to make them be about you (or some persona you would like to assume for this assignment). In any case, be sure to change the text and change things about the CSS file as well. You are welcome to extend the HTML and CSS as much as you like, but don't feel like you have to do TOO much. In the end, this will really be your web page and you can turn it into anything you like (within reason).
8. When you are done with this process, the URL of your website will be:

   http://sand.truman.edu/~abc1234/index.html  

   where abc1234 is your Truman network username. Note the tilda in the URL. Note that the public_html directory is necessary, but its name does not appear in the URL.