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Chapter 19: Case Studies Yahoo.com and WebReference.com

Now let's take the URL abbreviation technique you learned in Chapter 17, "Server-Side Techniques," and put it to work. As you recall, you can use the mod_rewrite module to automatically expand abbreviated URLs to save space. For pages with lots of links, this can make a big difference in file size. Because your home page is usually the busiest page on your site, it is especially important to ensure that it displays quickly.

Figures

Figure 19.1 - Yahoo.com - abbreviation central

Code Listings

WebReference.com

WebReference.com (Zipped, 32,193 bytes total) before abbreviation (Jan. 2, 2003)
WebReference.com (Zipped, 28,110 bytes total) after auto-abbreviation (Jan. 2, 2003)
RewriteMap file abbr_webref.txt as of Jan. 2, 2003
shorturls.pl free script to auto-abbreviate URLs.

Yahoo.com

Yahoo.com (Zipped, 30,177 bytes total) before abbreviation (May 30, 2002)
Yahoo.com (Zipped, 21,639 bytes total) after abbreviation (difference = 8,538 bytes = 28.3 percent smaller).