At the time, the Web was young and the documentation scarce. Although this method of learning required some searching, plenty of experimentation, and a lot of questions, it was very effective. Although gaining a complete understanding and mastery of the Common Gateway Interface takes some time, the protocol itself is fairly simple. Anyone with some basic programming skills and familiarity with the Web is capable of quickly learning how to program fairly sophisticated CGI applications in the same way I and others learned a few years ago. The objective of this chapter is to present the basics of CGI in a comprehensive and concise manner.
Every concept discussed here is covered in greater detail in later chapters.
However, upon finishing this chapter, you should be immediately capable of programming CGI applications. Once you reach that point, you have the option of learning the remaining subtle nuances of CGI either by reading the rest of this book or by simply experimenting on your own. A sample form. This is fairly intuitive once you realize how CGI applications are usually used. Often, the user is presented with a form to complete, such as the one in Figure 2.1.