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What is CGI? CGI stands for Common
Gateway Interface. It is a standard created to provide a consistent
interface between web servers and the programs that extend their
capabilities.
How does CGI work? CGI programs
are programs that actually execute on the web server, not on the
client's computer. They retrieve data that was sent from user
input, manipulate it, and return a message to the browser. CGI
programs can be written in almost any computer programming language,
as long as that language will execute on the server that it resides.
Some of the more common languages include Perl, C, shell script,
and Applescript.
Do I have telnet access? No. For
security reasons we do not allow any telnet access to Innovative
Data Transfer.
What language do they need to be in?
Scripts may be written in PERL, C and C++. PERL is probably the
most popular as it runs on many platforms, is world standard and
is well suited to CGI. In addition PERL code does not require
manual compilations whereas C code must be compiled prior to use.
Note: Innovative Data Transfer will not allow C code to be compiled
on our servers.
Can I test and compile my programs on your
server? No, we do not allow CGI programs to be developed
on our system. They must already have been debugged on another
system before inspection and installation onto our server.
Does Innovative Data Transfer have any CGI
programs that I can use? Yes. We are adding new CGI programs
all the time. Please visit our support
area to see which scripts we are currently offering.
Are you going to offer more CGI programs?
Yes. We are in the process of expanding our CGI common
library to include such things as a guestbook, simple search engine,
and a discussion board.
What CGI programs are available elsewhere?
There are many sites on the web that offer CGI services that reside
on their server. For instance, Web Counter is a service that allows
a user to include a odometer-like counter on their page showing
how many times that page has been accessed. Another example is
LPage's guestbook server.
What is the difference between CGI and JAVA?
JAVA is a programming language whose claim to fame is that it
can be executed on many different platforms and operating systems.
JAVA is code that is downloaded and executed on the client side
as opposed to CGI programs which are executed on the server side.
JAVA can be used to control form input, perform graphic animations,
and many other interactive chores. There are no problems with
including JAVA programs on your web site.
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