Server Side Includes (SSI)
Server Side Includes, shortly called SSI, is a scripting language which is very easy to handle. It is basically used for updating content to the web. This is done via a web server. The primary use of SSI is to transfer or paste all the content of a file into one or multiple web pages, enabled by SSI. The web pages could be enabled with SSI by just pasting a simple code into them. The file containing the content to be updated can be in any format like .html, .txt, etc. Any change made to the content of the file which is linked using SSI, would be reflected in the web pages displaying the latest update.
The web server would recognize a SSI-enabled HTML file only when it ends with .shtml extension. The files might also have .shtm as their extension but their recognition would depend on the ability of the web server to recognize these files. SSI are, in general, standard directives which are placed in web or .HTML pages in the form of SGML comments. SGML is nothing but the standard HTML language, which is an old technology that is still in use.
As the syntax of the SSI is not complicated and to the point, the application of the language is quite simple. It can effectively be used in cases where the web pages are meant to be dynamic and need to be updated often. It is also possible to just update or change a part of a web page. For instance, time alone can be changed in a web page, leaving the rest of the content of the web page undisturbed. This feature not only helps in regular updating of a part of the web content, but wipes off the tension that prevailed earlier caused by modification of the entire web content with incorrect stuff.
The disadvantage of SSI is that not all web servers support SSI and recognize its presence. Most of the Apache servers support SSI and do not have any problem in recognizing the files. Even if the web server does not support SSI, an upgrade of the configuration after discussing with the host might be of help sometimes. A few other concerns which an user should consider before applying SSI is that SSI usually would slow down the processing of the server and increase the possibility of riots as it weakens the security of the server.
At XEL Web Design , on requisition of inclusion of SSI, we develop the SSI codes for the web pages enabling our customers to manage their websites with ease. Our sophisticated team, having expertise in designing and programming, specializes in the development of SSI codes.
