Why Aren't You Using CGI by Michael Southon
The very name CGI used to send chills up my spine. For years I put it in the
'too-hard-basket'. But like most things in life, CGI is not as scary as it
seems. If you have a cgi directory on your website and you know how to FTP
files, chances are you can have a CGI script up and running in less than 20
minutes.
CGI (Common Gateway Interface) is not a programming language but a standard
that allows visitors to interact with your website. CGI scripts can be written
in a number of different languages but most are written in Perl (Practical
Extraction and Reporting Language).
This article gives you details of five free CGI scripts that will do the
following:
1. Mail out your Newsletter from your server 2. Track the number of times your
free E-Book is downloaded 3. Rotate banners on your website 4. Create your own
auto responders 5. Allow visitors to recommend your website to friends
At the end of this article are details of where to download these 5 free
scripts. But first, here are some basic guidelines on how to configure and
install CGI scripts:
1. CGI programs usually come in a zip file. Unzip the file and open the README
file. This document will give you instructions for configuring the program
file.
2. Open the program file using a text editor such as NOTEPAD (the program file
will usually have the file extension .cgi but may have other extensions such as
.pl).
In most CGI programs you will have to configure the following 4 items:
(a) the path to perl
This is where the perl program resides on your server. The path will usually
be:
#!/usr/bin/perl
but could be:
#!/usr/local/bin/perl
If you're unsure what your 'path to perl' is, check your web host's online
'manual' or FAQs. If you can't find it there, simply ask your web host.
(b) the path to sendmail
Most CGI programs notify you when your visitors have completed a particular
action, and for that, the program needs to know where the 'sendmail' program
resides on your server. The path to your UNIX sendmail program will usually be:
/usr/sbin/sendmail
But it could also be something like this: /usr/lib/sendmail
Again, check the documentation on your web host's website, or simply ask your
web host.
(c) the absolute path to your CGI directory
The absolute path tells the CGI program exactly where to find the file (or
files) that it needs to open. Unfortunately, the absolute path to your CGI
directory is not something you will be able to guess or deduce - it is
completely arbitrary and depends entirely on how the system administrator at
your web host has partitioned your host's hard drive.
The easiest way to find out your absolute path is to ask your web host. Another
way is by using telnet - just type in pwd (print working directory) and that
should give you your absolute path.
(d) Your email address
This is the address that the CGI program will use to notify you when an action
has been completed.
3. Uploading
Upload the program files to your cgi-bin (or a directory off your cgi-bin)
using ASCII mode. Never use BINARY mode, as this will play havoc with the
line-breaks in the script.
4. Set the File Permissions using CHMOD
CHMOD (changing mode) is the term for setting security permissions on files.
The README file will usually tell you the permissions that you need to set for
each file. The script file will need to be set to 755. This allows the file's
owner to read, write, and execute the file; anyone else can only read and
execute it.
You can set the permissions using telnet, but the easiest way is to use the
built-in option in your FTP program.
5. Calling the Script
Now that you've configured the script, uploaded it and set the permissions,
it's time to try it out! You do this by 'calling the script' using a URL in an
HTML document. This is what the URL for calling your script will normally look
like:
http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/script.cgi
Again, the README file should have specific instructions on how to call the
script. In addition, most CGI programs are accompanied by a web page that
contains the form your visitors would use to call the script.
And now here are the details of the 5 free CGI scripts I mentioned earlier:
----------------------- Subscribe Me Lite -----------------------
Subscribe Me Lite is a program that allows prospects/customers to automatically
subscribe and/or unsubscribe themselves from your mailing list. It has a
built-in mass mailing form for sending out your newsletter or updates.
More Information: http://www.cgiscriptcenter.com/subscribe/index2.html#curarticle
----------------------- Rob's File Tracker -----------------------
Rob's File Tracker is a perl script that counts file downloads or click-thrus
to any file. Very useful if you want to know how many people are downloading
your free E-Book.
More Information: http://www.robplanet.com/cgi
racker/
----------------------- AdRotate Pro -----------------------
AdRotate Pro is an ad rotation program that's easy to setup and easy to use.
Features include unlimited rotations, expiry by date, views or clicks, default
ads for when all ads are expired, and customer reports.
More Information: http://www.vanbrunt.com/adrotate/
----------------------- MasterRecommend -----------------------
This script allows visitors to recommend your website to a friend by sending an
email, without leaving your website. The program will also send you a copy of
your visitor's message (nice to know what your visitors think about your
website).
More Information:
http://www.willmaster.com/master/recommend/MasterRecommendmanual.html
----------------------- Master Auto-Responder -----------------------
This is a standard auto-responder program. The script allows you to set the
"From:" and "Subject:" lines for your auto-response.You can also choose to
receive a copy of each email that the auto-responder receives.
More Information:
http://mastercgi.com/howtoinfo/howautoresponderswork.shtml
If you need more help installing your CGI scripts, here are two excellent free
tutorials:
http://spider-food.net/install-a-cgi-script.html
http://www.stefan-pettersson.nu/scripts
utorials/installcgi.html
About the Author
Michael Southon is the author of the popular new E-Book, 'Ezine Writer!'.
Discover the #1 Secret of Internet Marketing - More Traffic, More Sales:
http://www.ezine-writer.com/
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