How does the File System work?

Every Domain Name has a 'home directory'. Within this directory, you store all of your folders, HTML files, images, scripts, databases and any other content associated with your web site.

When you login to the home directory you will see the following folders below it:

/htdocs - In general, you should place your index.htm or default.htm file here as well as any other HTML files and images.

/private - This folder is for advanced users. Scripts running on your web site have access to this folder, but the folder is not directly accessible from the web. You should place any database or databases your web site uses in this folder.

/logfiles - Every time someone visits your web site the system updates the current log files. Your log files are stored in this folder and you can download and delete them as you wish.

Do you support Microsoft Access Database?

Yes - We support Microsoft Access database and allow the creation of unlimited system DSN's through a customer Control Panel (Control Panel is an optional extra service). We also support the following driver types: Excel, DBase, Paradox, Text and Visual FoxPro.

You should only use Microsoft Access 2000 or higher databases. If you use Microsoft Access 97 you may receive the following error:

[Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] Cannot open database '(unknown)'. It may not be a database that your application recognizes, or the file may be corrupt.

Do you support Microsoft SQL and MySQL Databases?

Yes - We support Microsoft SQL and MySQL databases and allow the creation of unlimited system DSN's through your customer Control Panel (Control Panel is an optional extra service). We also support the following driver types: Excel, DBase, Paradox, Text and Visual FoxPro.

Microsoft SQL database is supported on shared account SQL Servers on Windows hosting accounts. Microsoft SQL Server is a high performance database, which can be used in place of a Microsoft Access database. You will need a good understanding of SQL in order to use a Microsoft SQL database on your web site.

MySQL database can also be used in place of a Microsoft Access database. MySQL is the open-source standard for databases and is ideal for web applications hosted on Windows or Linux accounts.

Microsoft SQL and MySQL database solutions run on dedicated database servers, designed to run fully transactional business applications, without draining processor speed or memory on our web servers.

Both Microsoft SQL and MySQL database is an optional extra service.

How do I Connect my Web Site to a Database?

To create a System DSN connection to a database, login to your Control Panel (Control Panel is an optional extra service), and click on ODBC Admin. On the following screen type in the name of the database connection, which can be anything you choose, for example:

database1

and then type the path to the database, for example:

http://www.your-domain.co.uk/private/database1.mdb

We have created a pre-configured /private folder for you to store your database or databases in.

How do my Scripts Interact with a Database?

As with your web site, your Scripts run on a shared server, thus what happens on one site can have an effect on the stability of certain components on other sites. Microsoft Access ADO is such a component, it is a shared resource, and therefore it should be programmed correctly.

The Jet access engine has a limited set of resources. Once these are exhausted the Script will generate errors. These are normally temporary in nature and can occur when server loading is very heavy. These are Operating System limitations, which cannot be extended or isolated by Bristol Link.

You should only use Microsoft Access 2000 or higher databases. If you use Microsoft Access 97 you may receive the following error:

[Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] Cannot open database '(unknown)'. It may not be a database that your application recognises, or the file may be corrupt. This is due to an issue in MDAC 2.5 and greater, and is only resolved by using a newer version of Microsoft Access.

It is important that you use as few connections as possible. If you are using session and application based objects use a single application based connection. Otherwise, use one per Script, explicitly opening the connection at the start of the Script, and then closing it at the end of the Script.

What is the Full Path to the Web Root?

When writing or configuring scripts such as ASP or PHP you may need to know the full physical path to your web site's home directory.

The path on Windows servers is:

e:domainsyour-domain-name.co.ukuserhtdocs
(where your-domain-name.co.uk is your domain name, without the www)

The path on Linux servers is:

homedomainsyour-domain-name.co.ukuserhtdocs
(where your-domain-name.co.uk is your domain name, without the www)

To find out the directory path create a file using Notepad. Type in the appropriate code depending on the language your using:

For ASP scripts type: <%=server.mappath(".")%>

For PHP scripts type: <?php phpinfo(); ?>

Upload the file to the /htdocs folder and run it in your browser. This will show you the physical path to /htdocs.

Here is an example of Server.Mappath used in a script: FileName = Server.Mappath("/folder/file.asp"

Other Paths:

The path to PERL is: /usr/bin/perl

The path to Sendmail is: /usr/sbin/sendmail

The path to BASH is: /bin/bash

Please note that Sendmail scripts do not work on Windows servers. A Sendmail script can only be used on Linux servers. For Windows servers you should use Jmail, CDONTS or CDOSYS.