This message is to announce the availability of a new beta-test
version of the HTTP server implementation (called "HTTPS") for
Windows NT. This software allows a Windows NT machine to serve
information using the World-Wide Web distributed hypermedia system.

HTTPS version 0.96 is an HTTP/1.0 server which runs as a Windows NT
"Service".  Executables for Intel-based systems, MIPS systems, and
DEC Alpha systems, are available.

This version is mostly a bug-fix release.We plan to make the 1.0 
release as soon as we've had the opportunity to test it with the
final release of Windows NT 3.5.

Hypertext documentation is available at:

http://emwac.ed.ac.uk/html/internet_toolchest/https/contents.htm

The server may be FTP'd from  emwac.ed.ac.uk  in the directory
pub/https. There are three ZIP files, for the different CPU types. 
Be sure you download the right one for your processor.

You may also wish to download the WAISTOOL toolkit for building and
searching WAIS databases, which can be found in /pub/waistool.


New features in 0.96
====================

* The default data directory location is now C:\HTTPS, to help people who
  have a CD as D: and don't realise they can configure the location.

* Error messages returned to the client now contain the HTTP status code
  in the text in a less obtrusive manner.

* Bug fixed: on some systems, CGI scripts appear to run extremely slowly.
  (I was eventually able to duplicate this on a system here, and
  was thus in a much better position to fix it.)

* Bug fixed: redirect URLs now contain the IP address of the interface on
  which the call was received, if this is different from the one corresponding
  to the host name.

* Bug fixed: ComSpec and PATH environment variables are now passed to
  CGI scripts.

* Bug fixed: Accept: * is now treated like Accept: */*. (Mozilla.)

* Bug fixed: logfile now closed correctly when system is shut down.

* Bug fixed: Very large files (4Mb) could not be served after the system
  had been up for a while.

* Bug fixed: when browsing, the URL associated with "Up to parent directory"
  did not have a trailing slash.


Features
========

* HTTP/1.0 server which understands HEAD, GET and POST methods.

* Supports CGI scripts and HTML forms.  Example scripts in C 
  included.

* Runs as a Windows NT "Service", so that it keeps going even
  when there's no-one logged in to the machine's console.

* Handles multiple simultaneous connections using multiple threads.

* Can search locally-held WAIS databases (requires WAISTOOLs
  for Windows NT, also available from EMWAC).

* Supports directory browsing (can be disabled).

* Support for clickable images (ISMAP).

* Available for DEC Alpha, MIPS and Intel architectures.

* Very fast, thanks partly to the use of Windows NT memory-mapped file I/O.

* HTTP transaction log written to text file.  Log file location is
  configurable.

* Logs errors using the Windows NT Event Logger.

* Configuration through the Control Panel, with configuration
  information stored in the Registry.

* If there is more than one network interface in the machine, HTTPS 
  will listen for incoming connections on all interfaces.


This server has been produced as part of the European Microsoft
Windows NT Academic Centre (EMWAC) project.  EMWAC has been set up to
support and act as a focus for Windows NT within European academia. 
It is sponsored by Datalink Computers, Digital, Microsoft, Research
Machines, Sequent and the University of Edinburgh.

Acknowlegements to Silicon Graphics for providing a machine for the MIPS
port.

A Gopher server and a WAIS server for Windows NT are also available
for beta test, available from the same site as above.