W3-mSQL provides a programatic interface to the mSQL database system from within an HTML document. It enables the development of entire programs within a WWW page while offering comprehensive access control and security features.

W3-mSQL achieves this by providing a complete programming language embedded within an HTML document. The language, called Lite, is similar is style and syntax to the C programming language and the ESL scripting language. Using W3-mSQL and the embedded Lite language, you can generate HTML code "on-the-fly" in the same way you do when you write custom CGI programs. What's more, you can mix normal HTML code with W3-mSQL code so that you only need to use the CGI styled approach where you actually have to.

To install W3-mSQL on your Virtual Server, connect to your Virtual Server using Telnet or SSH and untar the W3-mSQL archive file into your Virtual Server directory structure:

There is W3-mSQL documentation, including detailed examples, available at the mSQL web site. A sample W3-mSQL application is also available for installation on the virtual servers. You can install the simple example by untarring an archive file onto your Virtual Server.

% cd
% tar xvf /usr/local/contrib/w3-msql-demo.tar

Once the files are in place run the install script.

% cd ~/www/htdocs/bookmarks
% ./setup_bookmark

You can then access the Bookmark Database example at:

http://YOUR-DOMAIN.com/bookmarks/Welcome.html

Configuring the web server to automatically process W3-mSQL files based upon file extension

W3-mSQL enhanced html files must be pre-processed by the /cgi-bin/w3-msql executable before the server sends the results to the requesting client. Normally, this pre-processing requires the /cgi-bin/w3-msql executable to appear in the URL of each W3-mSQL file on your site:

http://YOUR-DOMAIN.com/cgi-bin/w3-msql/file.msql

The Apache web server can be configured to automatically pre-process W3-mSQL files with the .msql file extension. To setup W3-mSQL redirection, add the following lines to the ~/www/conf/httpd.conf file on your virtual server (or the ~/www/conf/srm.conf file, if you Virtual Server was configured before Dec. 8, 1998)

AddHandler htmsql msql
Action htmsql /cgi-bin/w3-msql

Now, it is possible for browsers to access W3-mSQL files this way:

http://YOUR-DOMAIN.com/file.msql

The .msql files will be automatically pre-processed by the /cgi-bin/w3-msql executable without the /cgi-bin/w3-msql executable appearing in the URL path.