Programming on the Web today can involve any of several technologies, but the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) has held its ground as the most mature method--and one of the most powerful ones--of providing dynamic web content. CGI is a generic interface for calling external programs to crunch numbers, query databases, generate customized graphics, or perform any other server-side task. There was a time when CGI was the only game in town for server-side programming; today, although we have ASP, PHP, Java servlets, and ColdFusion (among others), CGI continues to be the most ubiquitous server-side technology on the Web.CGI programs can be written in any programming language, but Perl is by far the most popular language for CGI. Initially developed over a decade ago for text processing, Perl has evolved into a powerful object-oriented language, while retaining its simplicity of use. CGI programmers appreciate Perl's text manipulation features and its CGI.pm module, which gives a well-integrated object-oriented interface to practically all CGI-related tasks. While other languages might be more elegant or more efficient, Perl is still considered the primary language for CGI.CGI Programming with Perl, Second Edition, offers a comprehensive explanation of using CGI to serve dynamic web content. Based on the best-selling CGI Programming on the World Wide Web, this edition has been completely rewritten to demonstrate current techniques available with the CGI.pm module and the latest versions of Perl. The book starts at the beginning, by explaining how CGI works, and then moves swiftly into the subtle details of developing CGI programs.Topics include: Incorporating JavaScript for form validation Controlling browser caching Making CGI scripts secure in Perl Working with databases Creating simple search engines Maintaining state between multiple sessions Generating graphics dynamically Improving performance of your CGI scripts

This concise presentation of the key elements of Perl CGI is perfect for programmers who are under the gun. The book includes the basics of where to write scripts; how to upload them and set file permissions; how to run them, and how to decode form data and save it to a file.

Turn static Web pages into dynamic documents with CGi (Common Gateway interface) programming. You'll learn how to write programs in C and Perl to handle forms and generate images, movies, sound, and more on the fly. The CD-ROM offers an array of useful CGi programs in C and Perl, ready to plug in.

This text provides an explanation of CGI and related techniques for people who want to provide their own information servers on the Web. It explains the value of CGI and how it works, and looks at the subtle details of programming. The accompanying CD-ROM

This concise presentation of the key elements of Perl CGI is perfect for programmers who are under the gun. The book includes the basics of where to write scripts; how to upload them and set file permissions; how to run them, and how to decode form data and save it to a file.

A comprehensive explanation of CGI for people who hold on to the dream of providing their own information servers on the Web. This edition has been completely rewritten to use the current techniques available in Version 5 of Perl and two popular Perl modules, CGI.pm and CGI_lite, plus discussions of speed-up techniques such as FastCGI and mod_perl.

A compact guide to creating customized programs for the World Wide Web, which introduces the essentials of Perl language and the Common Gateway Interface (CGI), then quickly moves on to cover forms and "comboforms." Topics include information-gathering and reporting with HTML and forms; customized client-server interaction with HTTP, including explanations of protocol nuances such as GET and POST; and text processing and management with the Perl language. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The sixth edition of this bestselling Perl tutorial includes recent changes to the language. Years of classroom testing and experience helped shape the book's pace and scope, and this edition is packed with exercises that let readers practice the concepts while they follow the text.

A guide to getting the most out of Perl covers such topics as productivity hacks, user interaction, data munging, working with modules, object hacks, and debugging.

"Create useful, dynamic Web pages and applications by matching the consistency of CGI with the efficiency of Perl. This powerful guide offers out-of-the-box applications you can install on your Web site, plus an in-depth examination of the object library for advanced exploration of functionality. Build information-rich relationships with users that include secure transfer of everything from names and passwords to targeted information in multi-user applications."--