Server side includes (SSI) allow web developers to include dynamic content in static web pages without using scripting languages like PHP. It’s useful for small parts of a page, and can reduce code and server load. Implementation involves adding code to an .htaccess file and XHTML pages, with a specific file extension (.shtml or .shtm).
Server side include (SSI), sometimes referred to as edge side include, is a technology frequently used by web developers that consists of writing instructions relating to the procedures to be performed when publishing a web page. A web page is served from a computer server when a client computer requests its World Wide Web address. These directives are included or encoded directly within extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML) documents to allow a static page to contain dynamically generated content without having to serve the entire page using scripting languages such as hypertext preprocessor (PHP).
The choice to use server side include technology is often made by web developers when only a small part of an XHTML document needs to be dynamically generated. For example, you may need to display the current local time on a static page. While this can easily be accomplished in a few lines of code written in any number of the scripting languages available, server-side includes are often used for such purposes. Web pages composed almost entirely of dynamically generated content don’t make use of server-side includes; instead, web developers opt for coding scripts in server-side scripting languages.
There are some advantages to using server side technology over that of scripting languages such as less code and a lighter load placed on the service computer. Solutions for dynamically generating content across an entire website, however, might involve the use of server-side includes and scripting languages because choosing which to use is determined by how much of each page on the site is static and how dynamic . Most web host companies offer their customers the option to use server side technology includes for their web pages.
Implementing server side includes is usually a simple task, particularly for experienced web designers and developers. It typically consists of creating an .htaccess file and adding code to it, and then adding code to XHTML pages where this technology is to be used. The specific code added is determined by the exact dynamic content that needs to be generated in specific parts of the otherwise static page. Web files using this technology must have the file extension specified by the web hosting company, which is usually “.shtml” or “shtm”, to work. Failure to change a document’s file extension to use technology is a common mistake, especially among inexperienced web designers and developers.
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