15 Apr 1998
               The SHOWDIR dynamic directory list processor

SRE-http's SHOWDIR.CMD is a front-end to the SHOWDIR dynamic directory
list processor, a procedure  developed by Tim Tassonis for the GOHTTP filter.
SHOWDIR is comparable to SRE-http's !DIR facility (and to the
GETAFILE add-on), with a few nice tricks, such as the ability to extract the 
contents of .ZIP files (a trick that GETAFILE now supports).
This document briefly discusses how to use SHOWDIR.CMD in the SRE-http
environment.

*) The first point is that, unlike !DIR, SHOWDIR does NOT work well
   as a stand along "directory display" tool.  Although it is possible
   to call it directly, it is best used to resolve "directory only"
   URLS (that is, URL's that end with a /).

*)  SHOWDIR can use the contents of HTACCESS files
    (i.e.; to dictate file exclusion).  Note that SHOWDIR will look for
    an HTACCESS file even if you are NOT using HTACCESS for access control
    (that is, even if DO_HTACCESS='NO') --  SHOWDIR merely extract the
    "dynamic directory" variables from the HTACCESS file, and pays no
    attention to the access control, redirection, and default index
    parameters.   Of course, if there is no HTACCESS file specified
    then SHOWDIR will not attempt to find one.

*)  Basically, the best way to use SHOWDIR is to include:
        !SHOWDIR
    in either the AUTO_NAME variable, or in the defaultindex parameter
    in the HTACCESS file.  This is similar to the !CREATE option,
    but instead of invoking !DIR, it invokes SHOWDIR.

*)  For more details on the use of HTACCESS files, see:
      http://w3.ag.uiuc.edu/DLM/GoHTTP/Submissions/

*)  And most importantly, to obtain the SHOWDIR package, see:
       http://w3.ag.uiuc.edu/DLM/GoHTTP/Submissions/tt/showdir.zip

*)  Note to GOHTTP mavens: the DIR.BUILDER parameter in HTACCESS files is
    ignored by SRE-http.

*)  Hint: _Dir.Exclude or Dir.exclude HTACCESS parameter can be used 
     to suppress display of sensitive files.  For example:
         _DIR.EXCLUDE: filename.ext fes.htm *.gif pic86.htm filenam2.ext

*)  Hint: the Dir.Describe parameter can be used to provide file-by-file
    descriptions.  For example:
          Dir.Describe: descript.txt
    The "descript.txt" file should have the form:
        filename.1   a description
        filename.2  a description
    where filename.n should NOT contain path information.
    Note that descript.txt file is only used for files in the same directory.
    
*)  CAUTION: The DIR.Info parameter (that display a header file) assumes
    HTML code -- if you header file contains plain text, it will NOT
    be formatted (it will be  displayed as one paragraph).