[lug] [OT] Web Server Question

[D. Stimits]

Dhruva B. Reddy wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I have a question about how web servers work and really don't know where
> to begin looking for the answer.
> 
> We are developing an application on Apache in Python using Albatross.
> Our home page is generated dynamically.
> 
> My question:  From the viewpoint of a web agent (whether it is a
> browser, spider, etc.), is there any difference between static content
> and dymanically generated content?
> 
> My understanding is that if you hit, say http://www.foo.com/index.html,
> you will get a file called 'index.html', which will look the same regardless
> of whether the file is static or dynamically generated.
> 
> Any answers or direction would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> -d


The server does add a header in addition to the web page itself. The 
amount and content of the header will depend on what the browser sent, 
such as what content type is accepted, and what content type is to be 
sent...e.g., "content-type: text-html" as a content type is not part of 
the html page, but it is seen prior to the actual html page content. 
Cookie information would be another example of this header that occurs 
prior to the actual web page.

D. Stimits, stimits AT attbi.com