CGI
stands for Common Gateway Interface, a specification
for transferring information between a World
Wide Web server and a CGI program. A CGI
program is any program designed to accept
and return data that conforms to the CGI
specification. The program could be written
in any programming language, including C,
Perl, Java, or Visual Basic.
CGI
programs are the most common way for Web
servers to interact dynamically with users.
Another
common method of providing dynamic feedback
for Web users is to include scripts or
programs that run on the user's machine
rather than the Web server. These programs
can be Java applets, Java scripts, or ActiveX
controls. These technologies are known
collectively as client-side solutions,
while the use of CGI is a server-side solution
because the processing occurs on the Web
server.
One
problem with CGI is that each time a CGI
script is executed, a new process is started.
For busy Web sites, this can slow down
the server noticeably. A more efficient
solution, but one that it is also more
difficult to implement, is to use the server's
API, such as ISAPI or NSAPI. Another increasingly
popular solution is to use Java servlets.
If
your site uses FormMail and you have not
recently upgraded to version 1.9, you need
to do so urgently. Support for FormMail
versions prior to version 1.9 is being
discontinued due to a potential security
hole. In order for FormMail to continue
working on your site, please upgrade to
version 1.9. You can download it free of
charge from here.
Setting Up CGI
1. Download the FormMail v1.9 cgi script (right click the
link and choose "Save Target As..")
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(If
you are unsure about which
format you need, choose the
ZIP format.)
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Title |
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Format |
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Size |
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FormMail.cgi |
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DOS/Windows
ZIP format |
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18KB |
| download here | |
| 2. |
FormMail.cgi |
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Unix
tar format |
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70KB |
| download here | |
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2.
Log into the server using an FTP program
and place the script into your "cgibin"'
folder once you are logged in.
3.
Highlight the script and right click to
change the scripts "File Attributes" or "Permissions".
4.
Set the script to 755.
5.
Once this has been completed you need to
point your "form" to the script
so your HTML coding would look like this.
<form
method="post" action="http://www.yourcompany.co.uk/cgibin/FormMail.cgi">
< input type="hidden" name="recipient" value="formresponse@yourcompany.co.uk">
< input type="hidden" name="subject" value="Online
Form response">
CGI
Script Samples:
1. Critical
Information - Perl paths etc
2. FormMail
- Web site form |
