Server Side Includes (SSI) Introduction

SSIs are special tag(s) that you place in your document and are the simplest way to generate dynamic content from your web server.

When the web server prepares to send a copy of the document to a web client, it examines the document and interprets the SSI tags as appropriate.

However, SSI tags are not very powerful. You can only use them to insert text into an existing document, and it is generally not possible to perform complicated processing to generate the inserted text.

Unlike other web servers, Zeus will recursively SSI parse content included or generated by SSI tags. This greatly extends the power of SSI, allowing you to pass values into included SSI documents.

SSI is suitable for use in document formatting. The ability to include standard document elements (like headers and footers), and, in the case of Zeus, make further SSI substitutions within these is very powerful.

SSI is an example of a content handler.

Advantages

• SSI is the simplest way to generate dynamic content from your web server
• The Zeus Web Server will recursively SSI parse content included or generated by SSI tags. This greatly extends the power of SSI, allowing you to pass values into included SSI documents
• The ability to include standard document elements (like headers and footers), and, in the case of Zeus, make further SSI substitutions within these is very powerful.

Disadvantages

• SSI tags are not very powerful - you can only use them to insert text into an existing document
• It is not generally possible to perform complicated processing to generate inserted text.

Content Manager [Administrator] 16 December 2005