Installing the W3C Validator

After it reboots, SSH back into your server. Download and extract the W3C validator and supporting software as follows:

su - root
wget http://validator.w3.org/validator.tar.gz
wget http://validator.w3.org/sgml-lib.tar.gz
tar zxvf validator.tar.gz
tar zxvf sgml-lib.tar.gz
mkdir /usr/local/validator
cd validator-0.8.4
mv htdocs share httpd/cgi-bin httpd/conf /usr/local/validator

Now we'll configure the validator software.

mkdir /etc/w3c
cp /usr/local/validator/htdocs/config/* /etc/w3c/
nano /etc/w3c/validator.conf

In the "validator.conf" file, change the line containing "Allow Private IPs = no" to "Allow Private IPs = yes". Change the line containing "Home Page = http://validator.w3.org/" to "Home Page = http://validator/w3c-validator/". Save the file by pressing "Ctrl+o", and exit the editor by pressing "Ctrl+x". Next, test the validator from the prompt as follows. You should see raw XHTML output in your window.

cd /usr/local/validator/cgi-bin
./check uri=http://www.w3.org/

Now we'll configure the Apache web server to support the validator software.

nano /usr/local/validator/conf/httpd.conf

Comment out the "Proxy" section by adding a pound sign ("#" character) to the beginning of each line. Add the following to "<Directory /usr/local/validator/htdocs/>" section below the "AddCharSet" entry:

Order allow,deny
Allow from all

Add the following section anywhere within the file:

<Directory /usr/local/validator/cgi-bin/>
  Order allow,deny
  Allow from all
</Directory>

Execute the following commands to make Apache aware of your configuration changes and restart the web server.

echo 'Include /usr/local/validator/conf/httpd.conf' >> /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart

Now you can test the validator in your web browser. Make sure the hostname "validator" points to your server by adding an entry in your network's DNS system, or by adding an entry to your workstation's "hosts" file. Navigate to "http://validator/w3c-validator/" in your browser and try validating a few pages. Enjoy!

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