Web servers can compress .html and similar files before they send them out - a great way to keep traffic volume down where bandwidth is more of a consideration than processor power. But what proportion of browsers can accept compressed data? That's a darned good question which I was asked on today's Tomcat Deployment course.

Adding in a few lines on the end of a PHP script that encapsulates all our web pages, I kep a log file for a short while. And out of a sample of 1380 hits on our web site ...
1035 (75%) could accept gzip compression
822 (60%) could accept deflate compression
166 (12%) could accept x-gzip compression
Only 245 requests (18%) did not include any notice that they could receive compressed responses.

Here's the PHP code I used ...

$fho = fopen("$_SERVER[DOCUMENT_ROOT]/../compress.dat","a");
fputs($fho,"$_SERVER[HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING]\n");
fclose($fho);

Remember that images are already compressed (part of the format of a.jpg, for example), so there's little point in trying to have the server compress them ... but for a busy, bandwidth limited setup at server and/or browser, I conclude that compression IS worthwhile.
(written 2007-09-14 16:57:26)

 A211 - Web Application Design and Deployment
A603 - Web Application Deployment - Further httpd Configuration
A654 - Web Application Deployment - Configuring and Controlling Tomcat

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.php or .html extension? Morally Static Pages
Match the Bedroom to the Hotel
Mood shots
Actionscript / Flash / Flex (IAQ/FAQ)
Compressing web pages sent out from server. Is it worth it?
FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) Western Region
Cash is not an acceptable way of paying
Screw it or Glue it? Access to Object variables - a warning
Wireless Internet Access at hotels - an update and some pitfalls
Evening, Devizes and Sells Green
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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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