How do I set up my web page set up on Blackhole?

So you joined ACM for the webspace and you can't figure it out? Well you've come to the right place. The following paragraphs will explain all there is to know about setting up your own website on Blackhole.

Now, first thing is first. You must log into Blackhole to do most of the commands. If you aren't sure how to do this, read the FAQ on Connecting to Blackhole.

Once you've made your connection, it is time to create a folder for your web site to reside in. There are some specific rules in creating this folder. It has to be named public_html and it has to be in your own user folder. Along with that, you need to allow other people access to the folder and its contents. The following list of commands should do the trick for the typical webpage setup.

mkdir public_html
chmod 755 public_html
chmod 711 .

Now the second line has something very important. The command chmod is used to modify the user access to public_html as well as ".". When you type "." it refers to the folder that you are currently in, in other words, you are giving people access to read the contents of your home folder, but not necessarily read the contents of the files and folders within your home folder. If you want to learn more about what the numbers mean, check out the Unix tutorial on the Links page.

With all of a folder all set up, it's time to start adding files. You can upload them over the network or write them using your favorite text editor. Also, you need to remember that any subdirectory that you create within public_html needs to have the same chmod command performed on it so visitors can view its contents.

Once you have all of your permissions set, it's time for making the actual files for your website. Every directory in your website, including your public_html folder should have a default file in it. The way Blackhole is set up, this file should be named index.html, index.htm, or index.php. This will prevent users from getting a 403 Forbidden error. You can create these files many different ways. If you aren't used to using Linux, you can check out the links for some tutorials that might help. One really simple method is to map your network drive on Blackhole. That way, you can create your files locally, then upload them by just saving them to your public_html folder. But be prepared, if you use this method the permissions on the files you create are by default writ able by people in your workgroup.

Last of all, it's time to go take a look at your new masterpiece. You can check out your website at http://acm.cs.uwec.edu/~username, where username can of course be replaced by your own username.