TightURL Version 0.1.2 What is it? ----------- TightURL is a LAMP-based (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) blind redirection service similar to TinyURL, designed for personal or company use by those who prefer not to use external services, or cannot use them for legal or logistical reasons. It may run correctly on a WAMP server (Windows Apache MySQL PHP), but it is unknown if it does or not. The major consideration in the design was the ability to customize the application without altering program code. All browser output except fatal error messages is produced by HTML-based templates. A fair amount of customization is possible simply by setting a few configuration variables in the configuration file or editing the included HTML template files. Under no circumstances does the program script file ever have to be edited, unless you're a developer. The primary reason for a blind redirection service is to avoid e-mailing URLs to people that are broken when received, because the recipient's e-mail program is unable to pick up the rest of the URL after a line-wrap. It is called a blind redirection service because you can't tell where you'll end up just by looking at the link. For the purposes of TightURL, we want to generate the shortest redirection URL possible, thus we use a blind redirection URL, and encourage the use of mod_rewrite or the "404-page Method" to achieve the shortest possible URL. Can I use it without getting a special domain for it? ----------------------------------------------------- Yes. The requirement for TightURL to be considered useful is the ability is to create a URL that won't wrap in a plain text e-mail message. That means the upper limit is about 72 characters of URL. A worst case scenario looks like this: http://www.a-really-quite-long-name.com/~example01/tighturl.php?i=abcdef Even this example can actually be made 10 characters shorter in most cases without needing to ask the webmaster for special settings: http://www.a-really-quite-long-name.com/~example01/t/?i=abcdef See INSTALL for more details on how to "squeeze" your base URL down to the smallest possible size. Why was it written? ------------------- This software was written for the oldest reason in the Free Software book; to scratch an itch. The author had been looking for some Free Software to run his own URL shortening service. Finding no Free Software that fit the bill, and wanting a first PHP project to work on, TightURL was born. Issuing an HTTP Redirect is not exactly rocket science, what the URL shortening service is really providing is convenience and processing resources. The software itself can be boiled down to a very few lines if it is hard-wired to its configuration values and output screens. But since the author had been looking for some cookie-cutter software and couldn't find any, he decided to write this so that hopefully no one else will have to. It can be cosmetically tweaked from the config file very easily, and in more depth by editing the HTML templates. Additional Disclaimer --------------------- Original author's code sucks. He is a rank amateur, evertything a professional developer despises. (I wouldn't run code written by me if I were you.) Contributing (code) to TightURL ------------------------------- Patches welcome. Critical advice welcomed if gently given. Access to CVS or Arch possible, please contact maintainer. ron-a-t-vnetworx.net The Latest Version ------------------ Details about the latest stable and development versions are available at the TightURL Web site at http://tighturl.com/ . Documentation ------------- The documentation available as of the date of this release is the contents of this README file. Additional documentation is available at runtime in the browser for using TightURL. Requirements ------------ PHP - Should work with any version >= 4.3.0 MySQL - Should work with versions greater than >= 3.x Features -------- * Can create very short URLs using mod_rewrite or the "404 Method" * ID size kept very short by using Base-36 IDs * The same URL entered more than once always returns the same ID * All output is generated by templates. * Site design is controlled by a single template. Known Limitations ----------------- TightURL probably works under Windows with Apache and MySQL, but we have no way of knowing for sure until someone reports they've tested it and it works. One possible problem would be if TightURL can't find nslookup on the PATH. The Windows version uses nslookup as a kluge for missing functionality in PHP for Windows. Coming Features --------------- Please see the file called TODO. Installation ------------ Please see the file called INSTALL for detailed installation instructions. Anti-spam Features ------------------ A problem with blind redirection services is they can be abused by spammers to conceal the domains their spam is trying to get people to visit. The TightURL Library attempts to screen out other known redirection services, Windows executables, and matches against your local blacklist. To keep spammers and phishers from abusing TightURL, it checks the URI blacklists at multi.surbl.org and black.uribl.com . TightURL will refuse to add URLs that appear on these URI BLs. You can add additional URI BLs. Licensing --------- Please see the file called LICENSE. Acknowledgments ---------------- The TightURL developer(s) acknowledge the following copyrighted works that make up portions of the TightURL software: * Bad Behavior The TightURL developer(s) also wish to acknowledge SURBL for the following data sets which are integrated with TightURL: * Two-Level TLD list http://spamcheck.freeapp.net/two-level-tlds * Whitelist domains http://spamcheck.freeapp.net/whitelist-domains * Blacklist domains http://spamcheck.freeapp.net/blacklist-domains