WorldWideWeb distributed code

See the CERN copyright . This is the README file which you get when you unwrap one of our tar files. These files contain information about hypertext, hypertext systems, and the WorldWideWeb project. If you have taken this with a .tar file, you will have only a subset of the files.
WWWLineMode_v.vv.tar.Z
The Line mode browser - all source, and binaries for selected systems.
WWWLineModeDefaults.tar.Z
A subset of WWWLineMode_v.vv.tar.Z. Basic documentation, and our current home page.
WWWNextStepEditor.tar.Z
The Hypertext Browser/editor for the NeXT -- source and binary.
WWWDaemon_v.vv.tar.Z
The HTTP daemon, and WWW-WAIS gateway programs.
WWWBook.tar.Z
A snapshot of our internal documentation - we prefer you to access this on line -- see warnings below.

Directory structure

The tar files are all designed to be unwrapped in the same (this) directory. They create different parts of a common directory tree under that directory. There may be some duplication.

NeXTStep Browser/Editor

The browser for the NeXT is those files contained in the application directory WWW/Next/Implementation/WorldWideWeb.app and is compiled.

Line Mode browser

The line Mode browser is in WWW/LineMode/Implementation/... (See Installation notes )

Subdirectories to that directory contain Makefiles for systems to which we have already ported. If your system is not among them, make a new subdirectory with the system name, and copy the Makefile from an existing one. Change the directory names as needed. PLEASE INFORM US OF THE CHANGES WHEN YOU HAVE DONE THE PORT. This is a condidtion of your use of this code, and will save others repeating your work, and save you repeating it in future releases.

Whe you install the browsers, you may want to to configure the default page. This is /usr/local/lib/WWW/default.html for the line mode browser, and .../WorldWideWeb.app/default.html for the NeXT browser. These must point to some useful information! You should keep them up to date with pointers to info on your site and elsewhere. If you use the CERN home page note there is a link at the bottom to the master copy on our server.

Some basic documentation on the browser is delivered with the home page in the directory WWW/LineMode/Defaults. A separate tar file of that directory (WWWLineModeDefaults.tar.Z) is available if you just want to update that.

The rest of the documentation is in hypertext, and so wil be readable most easily with a browser: We suggest that after installing the browser, you browse through the basic documentation so that you are aware of the options and customisation possibilities for example.

Documentation

The file WWWBook.tar.Z is an extract of the text from the WorldWideWeb (WWW) project documentation.

Sometimes (rarely) we distribute hypertext documentation [above installation and first-line help] in a tar file. In this case it is a snapshot of a changing hypertext system. The text is provided as example hypertext only, not for general distribution. The accuracy of any information is not guaranteed, and no responsibility will be accepted by the authors for any loss or damage due to inaccuracy or omission. A copy of the documentation is inevitably out of date, and may be inconsistent. There are links to information which is not provided here. If any of these facts cause a problem, you should access the original master data over the network, or mail us. You can always access the latest documentation over the net using www.

Servers

The Daemon tar file contains (in this release) the code for the basic HTTP daemon for serving files, and also for the WWW-WAIS gateway. To compile the WAIS gateway, you will need [a link to] a WAIS distribution at the same level as the WWW directory.

General

Your comments will of course be most appreciated, on code, or information on the web which is out of date or misleading. If you write your own hypertext and make it available by anonymous ftp or using a server, tell us and we'll put some pointers to it in ours. This way, the web spreads...
Tim Berners-Lee

WorldWideWeb project

CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland

Tel: +41 22 767 3755; Fax: +41 22 767 7155; email: timbl@info.cern.ch