WebNFS Limitations With Web Browser Use

Several functions that a Web site using HTTP can provide are not supported by the WebNFS software. These differences stem from the fact that the NFS server only sends the file, so any special processing must be done on the client. If you need to have one web site configured for both WebNFS and HTTP access, consider the following issues:

• NFS browsing does not run CGI scripts, so a file system with an active web site that uses many CGI scripts might not be appropriate for NFS browsing.

• The browser might start different viewers, to handle files in different file formats. Accessing these files through an NFS URL starts an external viewer as long as the file type can be determined by the file name. The browser should recognize any file name extension for a standard MIME type when an NFS URL is used. Because the WebNFS software does not check inside the file to determine the file type--unlike some Web browser applications--the only way to determine a file type is by the file name extension.

• NFS browsing cannot utilize server-side image maps (clickable images). However, it can utilize client-side image maps (clickable images) because the URLs are defined with the location. No additional response is required from the document server.