Re: Web Server & Documents

["Susan W. Gallagher" <sgallagher -at- EXPERSOFT -dot- COM>]

Continuing the discussion with David Demyan:

>I was able to find the article by "alter"ing the URL slightly:
>http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html. Mr. Nielsen does
>indeed discuss speed, but I could not find reference to any
>idea that longer HTML documents download and are viewable
>faster than shorter ones. I also looked at:

The 9703b article is, indeed, a call for succinctness. It
was the previous article I referenced, and if it's no longer
available at the URL I gave, you'll need to persue the "older
columns" link to find it.

The article is dated March 1, 1997. It's title is _The Need
for Speed_, and in paragraph 2, Mr. Nielsen states:

        "Research on a wide variety of hypertext systems
        has shown that users need response times of less
        than one second when moving from one page to another
        if they are to navigate freely through an information
        space."

He goes on to discuss ways in which to minimize waiting time,
including (toward the end of the article):

        "The most important issue in response time is when
        the user gets to see a screenful of useful information.
        It matters less if it takes longer to load the full page
        and all its illustrations if the user can start acting on
        _some_ information fast."

DAVID:
>While I now
>understand the basis for her assertion that many small HTMLs will
>consume more disk space than fewer larger ones, I still do not
>understand the impact on users who will most likely never have to
>store those files under a FAT-based system. I mus' be dense.
>

I don't think you're dense, David. But I do think that HTML files
will end up in more different places than just my company's server.
Again, I've just released HTML docs on CD. Can you guarantee that
those docs won't end up on some company's server or end-user's
hard disk? I can't. After all, if you had the choice between online
docs and your favorite music CD in the "cup holder" as you work,
which would you choose?????  ;-)

Sue Gallagher
sgallagher -at- expersoft -dot- com
     -- The _Guide_ is definitive.
        Reality is frequently inaccurate.

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