producing
a web page in Python
What's the least I can do?
As usual in developing a computer program, it helps to get a
minimal program to work. Then add complications in the
smallest reasonable steps, checking that each step is successful.
Here are a series of such steps:
create a static web page on your pc, served by the
PythonWebServer
These instructions assume you have already downloaded, installed, and
checked the PythonWebServer on your local pc, by following the instructions at this link.
In addition these instructions assume you are "Running the Web
Server" as directed by the instructions, and that you remember (or can
find) the location of the
PythonWebServer's html-stuff folder.
- Use a code window in IDLE to create a minimal web page, by
copying and pasting the following lines:
<head><body>
Success! static web page on your pc, served by the PythonWebServer
</body></head>
|
Save the file in the PythonWebServer's html-stuff
folder,
with the filename fromIdle.html
- Test the result by browsing to http://127.0.0.1:9000/html-stuff/fromIdle.html
use Python to create a static web page on your pc
- Create the desired Python program by clicking on this link and copying
the text into an IDLE code window.
Save the file in the PythonWebServer's cgi-bin
folder,
with the filename makeSmallStatic.py
- Test the program by opening it in IDLE and using using Run
→ Run Module. Expect
to see
Content-type: text/html
<html><body>Success! Static web page created from Python</body></html>
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- Test the result in a browser, by browsing to http://127.0.0.1:9000/cgi-bin/makeSmallStatic.py
run the Python program on a Stuy web server
- Use FileZilla (or another ftp client) to...
- ...copy makeSmallStatic.py to
your public_html directory on a Stuy web server (such as
marge.stuy.edu).
- ...add "execute" to
the "Public permissions" on to the file you have just copied to the
Stuy web server. Mr. Brooks explains how to set permissions
in his YouTube
video. In brief: right click on the
file
→ File Permissions
→ set "Public permissions" to allow read and execute.
- Test the result in a browser, by browsing to the file on your web (for
example, marge.stuy.edu/~your.name/makeSmallStatic.py
- If / when the expected "Success!" fails to appear, use the Python
Checker to check for common errors in your program.
Demonstrate this checker with the test files
http://marge.stuy.edu/~peter.brooks/good.py
http://marge.stuy.edu/~peter.brooks/bad.py
complicate the Python program to include desired features
Here are some things to try, both in a program on your pc and after copying it to a Stuy web server:
- Introduce an intentional error, so you will recognize the
format when you accidentally introduce an unintentional error.
For example, make
the program evaluate the undefined expression "1/0".
- Create another .py file with a
different name. For example, make count.py
list the numbers
from 0 to 7 on a web page on your pc, then on a Stuy web server.