CD-ROM Publishing

Why CD-ROM?

Desktop CD-ROM recorders (CD/R) can now be purchased for about $1000. The media cost to make a single CD is less than $10. A CD/R master can be duplicated for less than $1 per copy on a volume order. There are many situations where it may make sense to publish your HTML content on CD-ROM:

• Syllabi with high resolution color graphics
• Large amounts of raw research data
• Electronic resumes and portfolios for digital information
• Product catalogs for use in the field or to reduce network load

Design Considerations for CD-ROM Publication

The major CD-ROM standard is called ISO 9660 and is very restricitve with regard to directories and file names. Here are some rules you should follow:

• Limit all file names to 8 and 3 (xxxxxxxx.yyy)
  (The "L" in HTML may become a big problem here (.htm vs .html).)
• Only use letters and numbers in file names
• Begin every file name with a letter
• Use relative URLs for all local resources
• Avoid local links to directories (medinfo/)
  
• (Always specify a file (index.html or default.html))
• Keep directory hierarchies "flat"
• Avoid complex jumps between directories

The last two items require some explaination. The performance of CD-ROM drives is highly dependent on directory structure. A complex directory tree containing many small files typical of many Web sites is a worst case scenario for CD-ROM. CD/R recorders do all sorts of "tricks" to optimize performance, such as combining many small files into one larger file. Your HTML documents may interact with the CD/R process in unpredictable ways, leading to poor performance. Experimentation is often necessary to achieve satisfactory results.