CGI Scripts
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GI, Common Gateway Interface, is a
protocol for users to complete a task using an application software
generally installed on a web server. This task is generally
completed entering information into a form.
At that point the software will
respond using the variables entered by the website
visitor. This could be simply submitting a form,
entering an item into a classifieds ad or entering a
comment into a message board.
The available scripts are nearly limitless, you'll
simply want to do a search on your favorite search
engine to see if a CGI script is available.
CGI Script Basics
One of the first thing that you'll need to do is
to ensure that your web hosting plan is setup to allow for CGI
scripts. I can say that pretty much all of the big name
web hosting companies offer
CGI capabilites.The other thing that
you'll need is an FTP
program. This will allow you to easily upload your website and make
the appropriate changes that you need. These changes will be
documented in the installation file that comes with your script so
don't let this intimidate you. My FTP program of choice is
FileZilla, it's free and is very easy to learn.
As I mentioned, each CGI script will come with
an installation guide. They will generally contain the steps, in
order, that you need to do to get the script running. If you should
have issues they generally offer an email address that you can email
for support.
It's likely that the first few scripts that
you install may require a bit of troubleshooting so be patient, as
the programmer that wrote the script for support and make sure you
drop an email to your web hosting provider because there may be
something that they need to activate on your account.
Where To Find CGI Scripts
A couple of reliable places that I've used on
numerous occasions to search for scripts is
Script
Archive and
Hot Scripts. You'll find both Hot Scripts offers quite a few
more scripts and they offer a search for you to search for the type
of script that you're looking for.One
thing to consider is that some of the scripts may simply offer a
trial period so be sure to know this and what the cost is for the
full version before you invest the time into installing the script.
Other than that, a simple search on your
favorite search engine will definitely return some CGI scripts that
aren't available on the two websites that I mentioned.
Evaluate CGI Scripts
Due to the complexity and possibility of errors
when installing a script, it's recommended that you look for a demo
to see if the script is what you're looking for before taking the
time to install it..
You'll find that as you install more scripts that
troubleshooting and just the installation process itself will get
much easier. It's important that you simply learn from your errors
when installing your CGI scripts.
Webmaster ForumIf you'd like more information on web
designers I'd suggest that you take a look through our
webmaster forum. It's a great source for asking questions to
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