TinyWeb FAQ

Q? 

How can I contact the author?

A:

My email address is Maxim Masiutin <MAX at RITLABS dot COM>. As this has been in essence an unpaid effort there is no guarantee of support (you get what you pay for).

Q?

When I use my browser to show me my home page it displays its source, i.e. with HTML tags. My browser also reports that the Content-Type of the document is "text/plain", whereas on other home pages I noticed that it is "text/html". Have you any ideas why this is, and what I can do to put it right?

A:

As stated above, TinyWeb uses Window Registry to obtain the information about content-types, file extensions, and script interpreters. If your registry does not contain the information about content-types, try to fill the basic minimum of HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT values by installing web.reg. To install the file, download it into a temporary directory and open the file by double-clicking on its icon. If you want to check the contents of the file, to ensure that they are safe, right-click the file and select "Edit" from the context-menu.

Q?

I've compiled my CGI application into mycgi.exe, but when access it, TinyWeb gives out "Internal Server Error: mycgi.exe is a GUI application". How can I fix that?

A:

It is a linker option that defines thether an application is console or GUI. Whatever compiler/linker you are using to build your mycgi.exe, define it as a console application and re-compile mycgi.exe.

Q?

I cannot avoid "Internal Server Error: mycgi.exe is a GUI application" error because mycgi.exe was compiled by somebody else, I do not have the source code.

A:

You should modify TinyWeb in that case. Please find the following code in TinyWeb source, SrvMain.pas:

if WaitForInputIdle(PI.hProcess, 0) = WAIT_TIMEOUT then
begin
ErrorMsg := ReportGUI;
TerminateProcess(PI.hProcess, 0);
CloseHandle(PI.hThread);
CloseHandle(PI.hProcess);
b := False;
end;

Q?

Does TinyWEB support SSI (Server-Side Includes)?

A:

No. There are good docs on WhoIsHostingThis explaining SSI concepts.

Q?

I just made my homepage and launched TinyWeb. What should I enter in my browser's location field to access my site locally?

A:

http://localhost/

Q?

My browser (Netscape 4.7) makes localhost.com from localhost thus doesn't display my homepage.

A:

Try numeric representation of localhost:
http://127.0.0.1/

Q?

I was able to view it as "http://localhost/", but I couldn't figure out how to make an internet host address (ex: http://www.ritlabs.com). Can you help?

A:

Please contact your Internet Service Provider or Network Administrator.

Q?

What is the difference between TinyWeb and TinySSL?

A:

There is no difference except TinyWeb uses generic TCP connection while TinySSL adds a Secure Socket Layer to a TCP connection. Thus TinyWeb is an http daemon while TinySSL is an https daemon.

Q?

What editor did you use to create this HTML page?

A:

I've used FAR © 1996-99 Eugene Roshal.

Q?

Is it possible to run both HTTP and HTTPS servers on the same machine (or several concurrently running servers for diffferent addresses/ports on the same machine)?

A:

Yes, but if you start them in a same directory they will have the same set of log files and will cease to work. Run them from different directories, i.e. each server from it's own directory.

Q?

I believe what I am missing is in the area of PATHEXT variable which is mentioned in your help area. Any assistance in getting this working would be appreciated. Can you help?

A:

The NT command-line shell uses the PATHEXT environment variable to determine which files it treats as commands. This variable holds a semicolon-separated list of file extensions for command files. By default it has the value ".com;.exe;.bat;.cmd", meaning that, as one would expect, executable programs and batch files are treated as commands. By adding .pl extension to this list you can treat Perl scripts as commands, allowing to run Perl scripts using CGI instead of index.html.

1. Bring up the System control panel and select the "Environment" tab.
2. Is the PATHEXT variable in the "System Variables" list?
   • Yes: Add .pl extension to the beginning of the value, separated by semicolons.
   • No: Click on one of the System Variables, then type "PATHEXT" into the Variable text-field and ".pl;.com;.exe;.bat;.cmd" into the Value text-field.
3. Press the Set button to save the changes to the environment.
4. Restart any consoles to see the changes to the environment.
5. Restart TinyWeb.

Q?

The documentation sais if "index.html or index.htm" do NOT exist then the cgi stuff can be used. I have PATHEXT=.pl;.r What should I do further? c:\www\bin\tiny.exe c:\www\root comes up with "index.html" not found.

A:

Make sure you have at least one of the following files:

• c:\www\root\index.html
• c:\www\root\index.htm
• c:\www\root\cgi-bin\index.pl
• c:\www\root\cgi-bin\index.r

If you have none of above files, TinyWeb will display a message that it has displayed to you.