 BiblioWeb Overview
BiblioWeb is a Web server application installed in the "BiblioWeb" folder along with Biblioscape. A Web server program is one that sends html pages to your Web browser. Whenever you open
your Web browser, there is a Web server serving up the web pages. BiblioWeb is such an application on its
own. BiblioWeb sends Biblioscape database records through your Web browser. These records can be added,
edited, or deleted in your Biblioscape database using your Web browser without having to install Biblioscape on
your computer. Hence Biblioscape can also be called a Web-based application. Used by one user, it provides
the convenience of being able to access your database from any computer connected to the Internet while you travel. When used by many users, it provides an easy way for people to share a single database.
The Basics
BiblioWeb does not require third party software. It does not need a third party web server because it is not a
CGI or ISAPI solution. It is a Web server designed just to post a Biblioscape database. Go to the "BiblioWeb"
folder in your Biblioscape installation. Double click "BiblioWeb.exe" to run it.
By default, the "Settings" tab is shown. You don't have to change anything. But you do need to understand the following in order to use it properly.
Port
A port is a channel between a computer and the Internet. It is just like a gate in a stadium. There are many
thousands of ports potentially available. Normally port 80 is used for Web servers and there is no need to
specify it in the URL that you type in your Web browser. So, for example, when you open your browser and go
to www.microsoft.com, there is no need to enter www.microsoft.com:80. For BiblioWeb, port 80 is used by
default as well. But if that port is already used by another Web server running on that computer, BiblioWeb will
use another port instead. In such a case, when you enter the URL to access the database from a Web browser
, you need to specify the port number. For example, if the port BiblioWeb chooses is 8001 and the IP address of the computer is 216.205.78.164, the URL is http://216.205.78.164:8001.
Firewall
A firewall is a barrier between an organization's computers and the outside world. It is designed to provide
security against outside attacks. When you have BiblioWeb running on a computer inside a firewall, outside
users will not be able to access BiblioWeb if the port BiblioWeb uses is blocked by the firewall. If that is the case, contact your system administrator to have that port can be left open.
URL
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It tells users how to access a resource on the Web. When you have
your BiblioWeb server running, you have to let people know how to access that resource. In the BiblioWeb
setup panel, the URL of your BiblioWeb server is shown on the left bottom in a light blue color. It starts with
"http://." You have to let your users know to enter this URL into the address bar of their Web browser.
Access Control
When you have a BiblioWeb server running, you will want to make sure you know who is using your online
database, and how. BiblioWeb lets you assign "Read" or "Write" privileges to a user. Do you want to allow
anyone to access your database without a login ID? That is possible if you code the guest account name and password into a URL. All these are covered in detail in the online help.
Windows Service
If you run BiblioWeb.exe as a regular Windows application, you have to logon to your computer and start it
each time you reboot. That is inconvenient for running a server type of application like BiblioWeb. If you have
Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you can run BiblioWeb as a Windows service so that each time you turn your computer on, BiblioWeb will be running automatically.
Back to the BiblioWeb Main Page.
Back to Biblioscape Main Page.
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