Forms-based applications consist of two parts: a HTML document that specifies the buttons and other interface elements, and a processing program that reads the entered values, processes them and returns a new web page. We'll cover the processing first, and then the HTML. Here's the outline of today's first section:

• Interacting Components of the Web
  • Request Issued via URL
  • Server Retrieves Data
  • Browser Displays Data
• MIME types
  • Example: show environment
  • Example: show environment in a window
  • Sample: .mailcap file
  • Scripts
• How MIME types are determined
  • Sample: .htaccess file
  • Sample: .mime.types file
• CGI Scripts
  • Example: Hello World
  • Sample: .htaccess file
  • Sample: hello.cgi script
• Passing data to CGI scripts
  • Example: show environment
  • Example: show environment with passed data
  • Sample: server1.cgi
  • Sample: server2.cgi
• FORMs and INPUTs
• URLs generated by FORMs
  • Example: form with some buttons
  • Example: action buttons
  • Example: maple plot from a form
  • Sample: form.cgi
  • Sample: plot.cgi
• Maintaining data across sessions
• Warnings about CGI scripts

• The HTML forms tags
• The HTML tables tags

• URLs for some external references.
• List of all CGI sample scripts used above.