NEIU CGI Workshop: What is CGI?

What is CGI?

A simple explanation:

Take some tutorials or do a little reading

The Best Book

Perl and CGI for the World Wide Web
The best book I've found to learn how to 'do' forms using CGI/Perl.

Web Resources

The Common Gateway Interface
An overview of CGI from NCSA.

CGI Made Really Easy
A quick cgi tutorial for those with programming experience.

CGI Programming 101
A tutorial on CGI programming in Perl.

CGI Resources
Includes lots of great stuff, including another CGI Perl tutorial.

Try Making A CGI Clock: an NEIU CGI Tutorial

  • The CGI Clock
  • the clock script
  • an html page which calls the script

    To install and try this cgi script, follow these instructions:

    1. open telnet
    2. log on and get to the gamut prompt
    3. minimize telnet
    4. click on "the clock script"
    5. select the text (all of it) with your mouse
    6. use the Edit/Copy command in your browser to copy that text
    7. using Alt/Tab, toggle to telnet (gamut)
    8. at the gamut prompt, change to your http directory, by typing "cd http" (an then hit Enter)
    9. open pico by typing "pico" (and then hit Enter)
    10. use the telnet Edit/Paste menu option to paste the script into pico
    11. type "Control-o" to write the file to gamut
    12. name it "clock.cgi"
    13. type "Control-x" to exit pico
    14. type "chmod 755 clock.cgi" (and then hit Enter)
    15. using Alt/Tab, toggle to Browser, and click on "an html page which calls the script"
    16. select the text (all of it) with your mouse
    17. use the Edit/Copy command in your browser to copy that text
    18. using Alt/Tab, toggle to Gamut prompt, and open pico by typing "pico" (and then hit Enter)
    19. use the telnet Edit/Paste menu option to paste the script into pico
    20. change "login" to your login, change title "Jim Lucas' CGI Clock" to "Your Name's CGI Clock"
    21. type "Control-o" to write the file to gamut (and then hit Enter)
    22. name it "test.htm" (and then hit Enter)
    23. type "Control-x" to exit pico
    24. type "chmod o+r test.htm" (and then hit Enter)
    25. log out of gamut
    26. open test.htm in your browser (the URL should be but you change "login" to your login)
    27. click on "The CGI Clock"
    Many thanks to Paul Heydenburg for helping me with these instructions!
    Hello World
  • Hello World
  • the "Hello World" script
    CGI Generated Pages
  • Click here to see a CGI generated web page.
  • The Script for the Generated Home Page
    Back to NEIU CGI Workshop Main Page