VM:Webgateway Content Filetypes

VM:Webgateway needs information about a file to deliver it to a web browser and have it display correctly. In VM:Webgateway you convey the necessary information through the file's content filetype.

VM:Webgateway system administrators map file characteristics to content filetypes. To tell VM:Webgateway the characteristics of a file, you can name the file using a content filetype in place of the file's CMS filetype or BFS extension, or you can specify the content filetype for the file on a FILE record in the appropriate DIRMAP file.

The filetypes for static files, for example, convey this information:

• The file's content type, which is the combination of the file's contents and its format (for example, text/html or image/gif)
• Whether VM:Webgateway should translate the file's data before delivering it to the web browser, and, if so, which translation table to use
• The type of line end characteristic that VM:Webgateway is to use for BFS files; the characteristic can be CRLF, NEWLINE, or NONE
• Whether VM:Webgateway should parse the file for server-side include commands
• Whether VM:Webgateway should use a filter to reformat the file before delivering it to the web browser

The filetypes for CGI programs convey this information:

• Environment VM:Webgateway should run the CGI program in:
  • As an EXEC on the VM:Webgateway SVM
  • As an EXEC on a worker
  • In Webshare compatibility mode on the VM:Webgateway SVM
  • In Webshare compatibility mode on a worker
• Whether VM:Webgateway should pass the HTTP Authorization request header to the CGI program

Each filetype you use must exist in the VM:Webgateway database. The default database shipped with VM:Webgateway contains several filetypes, including filetypes that are designated as system filetypes. System filetypes are those that VM:Webgateway must have for normal operation. You can change or delete any filetypes except system filetypes, and you can add new filetypes.