[LINK] RFI: Bulk-Caching of a Web-Site down onto a PC
Roger Clarke
Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au
Tue Oct 10 20:03:27 AEST 2006
I run a web-site. (Well, I run a few, but one in particular).
It uses PHP to insert common headers and footers on all pages.
I want to download the whole site to my portable, so that I can make
the web-site available from cache, in a location that has no Internet
access.
How do I download a web-site that depends on server-side PHP processing?
Possibilities considered:
1. An FTP-Client (I use Interarchy)
*But* it downloads the unprocessed source-files, with embedded PHP.
Browsers ignore embedded PHP; but the browser displays no headers,
and the headers contain the navigation buttons.
2. A Browser
I have, and use, Safari, Mozilla and Camino.
Each saves-as one file at a time, and I can see no bulk download facility.
There are 120 HTML files (and 130 in other formats), so there's a lot
of downloading to do, which is time, effort, and scope for errors
(because I have the concentration-span of a gnat, and get bored and
impatient on repetitive tasks. Yes, psychiatrists would have a field
day with me).
(Safari saves-as into a proprietary format, which only Safari can use.
Mozilla and Camino download into a widely-used format, viz. they put
the HTML under fn.html, and all invoked files in a directory called
fn_files.
So they are cross-compatible.)
3. Own-Code
I could write a script to download them.
But hang on, I'm superannuated (I was competent-to-good 1970-1982.
In fact I used to write program-generators, which was pretty flash
back then. I even wrote string-handling routines in COBOL - now
*there's* a challenge).
And anyway, surely this kind of facility is pretty mainstream?!
4. Use PHP on the PC
*But* to invoke PHP, I need a web-server, and all the paraphernalia
(spg?) that goes with it. That's been a miscellaneous project for
years, but I'm still busy, and I need to solve this problem promptly
and reliably.
5. Am I missing something?
Thanks in advance to the Link Institute, in whom we trust!
--
Roger Clarke http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au http://www.xamax.com.au/
Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre Uni of NSW
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