input handling program

In the WWW, an input handling program is the program designated to respond to information that a web server receives from a user. How does one get input from the web? by using an interface, commonly CGI. The Common Gateway Interface, is an interface that can be used to enable external programs to interact with information servers, such as HTTP servers. For example, the White House web server, has a form for users to fill out with their names and comments. When that information is mailed in to the server, it is handled with the input handling program.

URLs:

Decoding Forms with CGI

This is an NCSA site that provides a great introduction to CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts and links to an archive of CGI programs on an FTP server.

W3E References:

Bourne Shell

CGI

Perl

TcL