Just as publishers cannot survive without knowing the needs and capabilities of their audiences, WWW developers need to know the technological profiles of their end-users. If most of the target audiences are using old text- based browsers with slow connections, alternative strategies need to be developed to ensure that these users receive comparable levels of service. One solution is to provide e-mail addresses for users to send in comments, rather than use a comments request form via a CGI script. Consequently, CGI scripts need to be thoroughly evaluated and tested before they are implemented, and policies for acceptable uses should be established. Providing forms for users to search a collection of documents is becoming commonplace.
People have unique information searching techniques.
While many prefer to use indexes and search forms, others would rather browse the entire collection. Using forms to query a search engine enhances subject access, but it does not satisfy the various information searching behaviours. CGI forms should be considered a convenient rather than an exclusive pathway to finding information on the Web. There is much current information about forms and CGI programming, both on the Internet and in bookstores. This book provides an in-depth coverage of HTML markup and CGI programming with a special emphasis on Perl.