Re: Naming files with .HTML vs. .HTM

Maryanne:

I can think of two reasons offhand for using .htm rather than .html.

1. In older--prior to Windows 95--IBM type PC's the file extensions were
limited to three letters. .HTML would have been one too many. So--for
example--if you are using DOS or Windows 3.1, you might need this.

2. For those servers set to do so, .htm is often used for pages containing
SSI, (Server Side Include files). This is a well known "compromise" over the
UNIX "default" requirement of .shtml and the NT default requirement of .stm.
(Both of course, can be set to allow any extension you like.) One advantage
to .htm is that most WYSIWYG and other web page editing programs will save
as .htm but some do NOT save as .shtml or .stm thus requiring some sort of a
"re-name" step for those aforementioned include pages.

Some time ago--when servers were a LOT slower than they are now, it was
considered an advantage to separate out the SSI pages so the servers would
not have to parse them for include files. Others have pointed out that this
is a little silly as the browser and server have to interact over the
calling for and downloading of all the images anyway and any slight
additional load of servers checking for include pages is more academic than
any real threat to bogging down and overloading a server because it is still
named with a .html extension.

As servers became faster, this has--for most, but not all of course--became
a non-issue.

Also--in this short reply, I have overlooked the issues of Case Sensitivity
and "Index/Default" naming of "start" pages.

Best wishes
Ted Temer
Temercraft Designs Redding, CA
temer(at)c-zone.net
www.temercraft.com/novels/
www.newsredding.com/
www.ramac-rc.org/


> What a fantastic resource this is!
> Thanks so much for your thoughts/comments in advance.
>
> Would anyone have an idea why you would choose to save a file with an
> .HTM extension vs. an .HTML extension. Are there any pros/cons to either
> choice. Browser issues?
>
> Thank you,
> Maryanne
>
> ______________________
> Maryanne Martin
> Cerylion, Inc.
>
> mmartin(at)cerylion.com
>
>

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