do server side includes affect performance?

spinal007 · Apr 23rd, 2004, 13:26

I know it's a bit of a technical question and it might not even be that important......

here's the problem:
my client wants to be able to change certain things on the site (as you'd expect) when I'm not around, which is fair enough.
this problem isn't complex enough to require a database, which will just take longer to design so I choose to use simple HTML includes all around the site which he'll be able to edit in the future (using MS Word or something, he's happy about that).

enough crap, here's the question:
can this affect the performance of the website?
if I have loads of includes, could it considerably slow down the server?
please consider extreme situations....

THANK YOU!

Smokie · Apr 23rd, 2004, 14:18

D3mon · Apr 23rd, 2004, 16:38

Webforumz Staff · Apr 23rd, 2004, 18:13

LOL

Yes they affect performance, but that doesn't mean they're not good to use. So, I'll skip your question and say my opinion is to use the includes.

But, if this is just for simpler content management there's a pretty cool product from Macromedia that does this stuff:
http://www.macromedia.com/software/contribute
You can get a free demo from the site.

D3mon · Apr 23rd, 2004, 18:59

Agreed. Badly-coded conditional includes will multiply server-load as each include has to be pre-loaded by the server before the ASP is parsed to decide which one is to be used.

Smokie · Apr 26th, 2004, 08:13

Who said they were conditional includes?

D3mon · Apr 26th, 2004, 18:05

Nobody, but I'm just a fountain of useless information!

David · Apr 26th, 2004, 19:31

Why not build the client a simple CMS. I would never expect a client to have to edit HTML files to change content, we have databases and HTML Editors for stuff like this

courtjester · Apr 26th, 2004, 22:16

Yeah, it'll probably be worth your while to go ahead and build the guy an editor. (Admin screen). I have been doing ASP for very short periods of time and that is just about the only thing I can do so far :wink:. So if you know ASP I'm sure this wouldnt be at all difficult nor would it be time consuming. Also, whenever a client has the opportunity to mess with your coding, even if it is marked out clearly enough for it to be "fool proof" things always go wrong. Trust me, I have spent many hours repairing websites for people who have done that. And yes I know your using includes, but if using the wrong symbols or anything can still mess that up.

Smokie · Apr 27th, 2004, 08:44

Hi David, I used to own a MKIII VR6

spinal007 · Apr 30th, 2004, 21:23

hey guys, thanks for the replies.....

I have a full HTML editor just like the one we use to post messages on this website. in fact, mine is slightly better!

but anyway, that wasn't part of my specification. I put a lot of work into developing that editor and i'm not gonna hand it over to my client so he can just use it for free.....
i mean, I support all this code-sharing stuff but it will take me more time to install the thing, i'll have to maintain another database, I won't get paid for it and it will not make any difference for the site visitors.....

plus, you guys know what bosses are like, they're thick! that's why they pay us to do stuff! so I'd have to teach the poor soul how to use it and that my friends, would be a 9 hour introductury lesson!!!!!

spinal007 · Apr 30th, 2004, 21:28

the includes are only small parts of the site. they're gonna be edited in MS-Word (which is pretty much fool-proof. I understand what you mean Court Jester:
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">whenever a client has the opportunity to mess with your coding, even if it is marked out clearly enough for it to be "fool proof" things always go wrong<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
and I'm takking precautions to make sure that doesn't happen:
all includes are in a separate folder, split into categories and they are HTML files (which can't affect the ASP coding)

courtjester · May 1st, 2004, 04:38

Well as for your HTML builder thing... It really shouldn't be that complex if your going to send it out for people to use. The one I'm currently working on is just a text-only editor. They type the message they want and they can select what images they want from a Drop down list and it's done. Just about as simple as you can get.

spinal007 · May 5th, 2004, 12:34

I understand what you're saying....
the HTML editor isn't complex, I have a plain text editor (probably like yours) and they're able to choose images directly from the server...
but for this specific solution, adding the HTML editor and a database is really just not necessary, considering the project's specifications, deadline and budget...