CGI Programming in C and Perl
Published on 16. August 1996
Book
Mixed media product
416 pages
978-0-201-42219-1 (ISBN)
Description
The simple, static hypertext documents that currently dominate the Web canconvey a great deal of information, but eventually their limitations becomeclear. What if you wish to provide dynamic data--information that changes overtime? What if you want to sell products on your Web site and secure paymentinformation from users? Or what if you seek to provide a search facility thatpermits a Web database to be explored? Dynamic resources of this sort areaccomplished through CGI (Common Gateway Interface) programming. CGI programs can take advantage of any resource available to the servercomputer to generate their output and can also accept input from the userthrough forms. These two basic capabilities have led to a wide variety ofapplications, such as forms processing, generation of inline images and movies,the formatting of data sets based on queries to a database, real-time updatesto Web pages, and more. CGI Programming in C and Perl shows you how to create theseinteractive, multimedia documents via CGI programming in two practicallanguages: C, which has distinct performance advantages, and Perl, one of themost popular for CGI today.Applications and source code are presented in both languages.
You'll learn how to: *generate HTML pages and images on the fly *get CGI access on your ISP's site *ensure security for your CGI-activated site *parse form submissions directly *send e-mail via forms and CGI. 0201422190B04062001
You'll learn how to: *generate HTML pages and images on the fly *get CGI access on your ISP's site *ensure security for your CGI-activated site *parse form submissions directly *send e-mail via forms and CGI. 0201422190B04062001
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Boston
United States
Publishing group
Pearson Education (US)
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 186 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-201-42219-1 (9780201422191)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Thomas Boutell is the author of the World-Wide Web Frequently AskedQuestions list, a FAQ that is distributed to all Web-related newsgroups. He is also the author of the leading CGIlibrary written in C, as well as the gd dynamic graphics library.
0201422190AB04062001
0201422190AB04062001
Content
(Each chapter ends with a Conclusion.)
Acknowledgments.
1. World Wide Web Documents.
The Universe of Web Documents.
References.
2. The CGI Standard.
The Need for a Standard.
The Goals of CGI.
CGI and the HyperText Transfer Protocol.
CGI Environment Variables.
CGI Standard Output.
CGI Standard Input.
References.
3. Obtaining CGI Access.
Purchasing CGI Access on a Commercial Server.
Common Rules for Installing CGI Programs.
Creating Your Own Internet Site.
Configuring Web Servers to Recognize CGI Programs.
References.
4. Some Simple CGI Examples.
Hello: Sending HTML to the Browser.
Leveraging Existing Programs: cuptime.
5. Virtual Directory Spaces: Taking Advantage of PATH_INFO.
What Are Environment Variables?
Using PATH_INFO: Creating a Virtual Document Space.
The World Birthday Web, Part I: Browsing Birthdays.
When PATH_INFO Isn't Enough.
References.
6. Identifying the User: More CGI Environment Variables.
More Environment Variables.
REMOTE_IDENT: The Pitfalls of User Identification.
AUTH_TYPE and REMOTE_USER: Identifying the User on Your Own Terms.
Applications of REMOTE_USER.
References.
7. Handling User Input: Interacting with Forms.
Creating Forms.
Processing Form Input.
Accepting Comments.
Existing Comment-form and Guestbook Packages.
References.
8. Using cgic and cgi-lib: Complete CGI Solutions.
The cgic Library: A Better API for CGI.
The World Birthday Web, Part II: Using cgic.
cgi-lib: Simplifying CGI for Perl Programmers.
The World Birthday Web, Part III: Using cgi-lib.
9. Sending E-mail from CGI Programs.
Alternatives to Using CGI.
Security Risks of Sending E-mail with /bin/mail.
Sending E-mail with sendmail.
Identifying the Sender: How Much Can Be Done?
A Complete E-mail Form: Accepting Bug Reports.
Existing CGI E-mail Packages.
References.
10. Multimedia: Generating Images in Dynamic Documents.
Pointing to Existing Images in a CGI-generated HTML Page.
Generating Dynamic Images: Mime Types and Multimedia.
A CGI Program That Delivers an Image Instead of HTML.
Off-the-shelf Ways to Generate Images.
Using the gd Graphics Library.
Drawing Graphs on the Fly.
References.
11. Advanced Forms: Using All the Gadgets.
New Tricks with Text Elements.
A Complete Example.
12. Advanced CGI and HTML Features.
A Problem: Sending Updated Information to the User.
Client Pull: Web Pages That Update Themselves.
Server Push: Pushing the Limitations.
Making Decisions Based on Browser Type.
Implementing Imagemaps.
Redirection: Forwarding Requests to Another URL.
Using capture: Debugging CGI Programs in Real Debuggers.
References.
13. The Solar System Simulator: Pushing the Limitations of CGI.
Is CGI the Right Way to Do This?
Designing the SSS: Overcoming CGI Limitations.
Perl Notes.
The SSS in C: nph-sss.c.
The SSS in Perl: nph-sss.
14. World Wide Web Wall Street: An Advanced CGI Application.
The Security Problem.
The Design of WWWWS.
Simulating Stock Prices in C: simtrade.c.
Simulating Stock Prices in Perl: simtrade.
Installing and Using simtrade.
The trade Program: Interacting with the User.
15. What's Next: CGI and Beyond.
For Some Tasks, CGI is Overkill.
Improved APIs: Faster Replacements for CGI.
The Fundamental Limitation of CGI.
Addressing CGI Limitations: Web Browser Programming Tools.
Why CGI Isn't Going Away Any Time Soon.
References.
Appendix 1. CGI Environment Variables.
Appendix 2. Internet Media Content Types.
Appendix 3. cgic Reference Manual.
Appendix 4. gd Reference Manual.
Acknowledgments.
1. World Wide Web Documents.
The Universe of Web Documents.
References.
2. The CGI Standard.
The Need for a Standard.
The Goals of CGI.
CGI and the HyperText Transfer Protocol.
CGI Environment Variables.
CGI Standard Output.
CGI Standard Input.
References.
3. Obtaining CGI Access.
Purchasing CGI Access on a Commercial Server.
Common Rules for Installing CGI Programs.
Creating Your Own Internet Site.
Configuring Web Servers to Recognize CGI Programs.
References.
4. Some Simple CGI Examples.
Hello: Sending HTML to the Browser.
Leveraging Existing Programs: cuptime.
5. Virtual Directory Spaces: Taking Advantage of PATH_INFO.
What Are Environment Variables?
Using PATH_INFO: Creating a Virtual Document Space.
The World Birthday Web, Part I: Browsing Birthdays.
When PATH_INFO Isn't Enough.
References.
6. Identifying the User: More CGI Environment Variables.
More Environment Variables.
REMOTE_IDENT: The Pitfalls of User Identification.
AUTH_TYPE and REMOTE_USER: Identifying the User on Your Own Terms.
Applications of REMOTE_USER.
References.
7. Handling User Input: Interacting with Forms.
Creating Forms.
Processing Form Input.
Accepting Comments.
Existing Comment-form and Guestbook Packages.
References.
8. Using cgic and cgi-lib: Complete CGI Solutions.
The cgic Library: A Better API for CGI.
The World Birthday Web, Part II: Using cgic.
cgi-lib: Simplifying CGI for Perl Programmers.
The World Birthday Web, Part III: Using cgi-lib.
9. Sending E-mail from CGI Programs.
Alternatives to Using CGI.
Security Risks of Sending E-mail with /bin/mail.
Sending E-mail with sendmail.
Identifying the Sender: How Much Can Be Done?
A Complete E-mail Form: Accepting Bug Reports.
Existing CGI E-mail Packages.
References.
10. Multimedia: Generating Images in Dynamic Documents.
Pointing to Existing Images in a CGI-generated HTML Page.
Generating Dynamic Images: Mime Types and Multimedia.
A CGI Program That Delivers an Image Instead of HTML.
Off-the-shelf Ways to Generate Images.
Using the gd Graphics Library.
Drawing Graphs on the Fly.
References.
11. Advanced Forms: Using All the Gadgets.
New Tricks with Text Elements.
A Complete Example.
12. Advanced CGI and HTML Features.
A Problem: Sending Updated Information to the User.
Client Pull: Web Pages That Update Themselves.
Server Push: Pushing the Limitations.
Making Decisions Based on Browser Type.
Implementing Imagemaps.
Redirection: Forwarding Requests to Another URL.
Using capture: Debugging CGI Programs in Real Debuggers.
References.
13. The Solar System Simulator: Pushing the Limitations of CGI.
Is CGI the Right Way to Do This?
Designing the SSS: Overcoming CGI Limitations.
Perl Notes.
The SSS in C: nph-sss.c.
The SSS in Perl: nph-sss.
14. World Wide Web Wall Street: An Advanced CGI Application.
The Security Problem.
The Design of WWWWS.
Simulating Stock Prices in C: simtrade.c.
Simulating Stock Prices in Perl: simtrade.
Installing and Using simtrade.
The trade Program: Interacting with the User.
15. What's Next: CGI and Beyond.
For Some Tasks, CGI is Overkill.
Improved APIs: Faster Replacements for CGI.
The Fundamental Limitation of CGI.
Addressing CGI Limitations: Web Browser Programming Tools.
Why CGI Isn't Going Away Any Time Soon.
References.
Appendix 1. CGI Environment Variables.
Appendix 2. Internet Media Content Types.
Appendix 3. cgic Reference Manual.
Appendix 4. gd Reference Manual.