Thumbnail Index Generator for JPEG Images under RISC OS
Generates HTML index pages and corresponding thumbnails for a gallery of JPEG images
PC users click
here!
Pic_index uses
10% goes to
Validate this page
More About This Site
OK - so what other practical use am I putting this to, apart from saving a bit of space by 'including' certain files
rather than having them already part of every page and adding a few dates?
One thing I am doing is 'browser sniffing'. The server knows what browser you are using from an identification string
which is sent by your browser as part of the initial negotiation for the HTTP protocol.
Your browser identifies itself as:
This means I can tailor the page you receive to suit you/your browser. I'm using this to decide two things:
- Do I need to draw your attention to the PC information?
- Is it safe to let you have my e-mail address in harvestable form?
If I can't positively identify your browser as being a RISC OS one or a text-only browser, I will assume that you're
using a PC or something similar and prompt you towards the 'compatibility' page where I explain that Pic_Index is for
RISC OS only.
Otherwise, you start straight on the normal 'main' page
I'm afraid this means that if you're pretending to be a PC - 'faking' - you may get the PC page prompt!
I base whether to let you have my e-mail address in text form on a similar argument. If you are RISC OS, then you won't
be an e-mail address harvester! Also, the same applies if you identify yourself as a text-only browser, so the page you
get served with (created by PHP just for you!) gives you a 'mailto:' link on the menu bar at the side.
Just in case, the e-mail address appears on the page encoded as HTML entities rather than plain text - an extra
precaution!
Otherwise, you may possibly be a 'bot' after my address, so I am more cautious. You get a web form to fill in instead.
This web form has been the subject of an attack by spammers, so has now
(2006) been furnished with an extra security feature where you have to
type in a displayed word before the message is sent!
The planned next stage to this is to leave a 'cookie' on your machine, so that next time you call, whoever you are, I can
start you on the main page (now implemented for possible PC users). This could also allow me to distinguish new
first-time visitors from people coming back and make my visitor counting more relevant.
It might also make it less-annoying for you if you were looking at the site on a PC at work, for example, or using
'faking' on a RISC OS machine!
You wouldn't get the 'mailto:' link, but at least you wouldn't keep getting to that PC page suggestion every time!
So, I hope, I'm using the techniques here to improve the service you get from the site by tailoring it to your needs from the
meagre information I have about you!. Anyway, that's the idea!
Last modified: 27 February 2007
top of page-content
a random user-quote:
"I just want to tell you how much I enjoy using Pic_Index! This is one program which I have yet to find an equivalent on the PC which is so easy to use!" Samuel Kock
page accessed: Thursday, August 28, 2008