Demystifying CGI 247FormsDemystifying CGIWeb Design in a Nutshell, eMatter EditionDemystifying CGI
Often designers assume thatcgi-bincontains things beyond our comprehension.
It’s time to look behind the curtain! Although it is true that creating Perl and C
scripts from scratch requires programming experience, you can still take advan-
tage of the power of scripts by using one that is already made.
Many web-hosting services offer a library of standard CGI scripts that are already
installed on their servers. In that case, all you may need to do is point to the script
from your page. Some hosting providers will also allow you to upload scripts of
your own.
There are a number of great resources for CGI scripts on the Web, including
scripts that process forms and send their contents in formatted email messages.
Many of them are available for free and include exhaustive documentation that
leads even a novice through the process of customizing and installing the script on
the server. Some of the more popular CGI archives include:
Matt’s Script Archive
http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/
A collection of free and useful scripts written by Matt Wright (including Form-
Mail discussed later in this chapter) with excellent documentation for
configuring.
The CGI Resource Index
http://www.cgi-resources.com/
A complete index of over 1200 CGI-related resources. This site is compiled by
Matt Wright of Matt’s Script Archive.
Selena Sol’s Public Domain CGI Script Archive
http://www.extropia.com/Scripts/
“A public service website developed out of the late-night scripting expedi-
tions of Selena Sol and Gunther Birznieks.”
Freescripts.com
http://www.freescripts.com/
Like the name says, this is another site providing useful and free customiz-
able CGI scripts.
Ask Your Server Administrator
Because adding scripts and programs to your web site relies heavily on your
server and its configuration, you’ll need to work with your server administrator to
get things set up. Before you start, you should ask your administrator the
following questions:
- Does your web site-hosting package include access to CGI scripts?Not all web
site hosting services provide access to CGI scripts and functions. - Does the server have a script available that does what you’re looking for?Many
web site-hosting services have standard scripts available for their customers’