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Cgi-bin
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The common gateway
interface (CGI) is a standard way for a Web server to pass a Web user's
request to an application program and to receive data back in order to
forward to the user. When the user requests a Web page (for example, by
clicking on a highlighted word or entering a Web site address), the server
sends back the requested page. However, when a user fills out a form on a
Web page and sends it in, it usually needs to be processed by an application
program. The Web server typically passes the form information to a small
application program that processes the data and may send back a confirmation
message. This method or convention for passing data back and forth between
the server and the application is called the common gateway interface (CGI).
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The common
gateway interface provides a consistent way for data to be passed from the
user's request to the application program and back to the user. This means
that the person who writes the application program can make sure it gets
used no matter which operating system the server uses. It is simply a basic
way for information to be passed from the Web server about your request to
the application program and back again.
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Because the
interface is consistent, a programmer can write a CGI application in a
number of different languages. The most popular languages for CGI
applications are: C, C++, Perl, Python and Unix shell scripts. An
alternative to a CGI application is Microsoft's Active Server Page (ASP) or
PHP, see above for details.
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