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easons exist why you decide to mask dynamic script as static —those
Rreasons often deal with SEO and others deal with usability. Whatever the case,
masquerading scripts is a straightforward process that doesn’t take long at all,
given you don’t do it individually for hundreds of scripts. Doing so means you’ve
likely structured your site improperly.
This article walks you through masquerading cgi/php scripts, but remains
applicable to varying types of scripts run server-side through apache.
requirements
To set up your cgi and php scripts for a static guise, you need
certain tools — as well as access to specific parts of your server
and administration rights.
access and administration
Access to .htaccess Overrides – If you don’t run your
own server, contact your host. Inquire whether the server
configuration allows .htaccess overrides.
Access to the Server Modules – If you’re using
an Apache server, you’ll need to make sure
to install your mod_rewrite module.
Tools
ASCII Text Editor – To change the
commands in your code properly, you’ll
need to use an ascii text editor. You
cannot use something like WordPad,
Microsoft Word, Textmaker, or any other
word processor. They add additional lines
behind the visible code. As a result, this will cause
errors. The following lists free, safe editors:
Notepad++ – Notepad++ boasts a twice-
awarded recipient of the SourceForge Community Masquerading
Choice Award for Best Developer Tool. Download it at
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/.
Vim – Vim boasts the vote for most popular by Linux Journal
Readers in 2006 and the third most popular editor in 2015 and CGI/PHP
2016, according to Stack Overflow surveys. Download it at http://
www.vim.org/.
Scripts
Atom – Though just two years in, Atom has made LifeHacker’s top five
lists. Download it at https://atom.io/.
Emacs – A family of editors, Emacs started out in the mid seventies. Download
it at http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/.
UltraEdit – UltraEdit stays on its game with upwards of thirty awards,
including People’s Choice Award and IDM’s Best Application. Download it at
http://www.ultraedit.com/.
Masking and Parsing: Single versus all
There are two ways in which to render a URL. The first involves masking single
dynamic pages so they appear static. In this method, you point to a particular page
and have the CGI render the dynamic URL to appear static. For example, “yoursite.
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