CGI Scripting 4

[JennyW]

Hiee,
I want to use Forms on my website.
Do I need to know how to do CGI Scripting if I want to make forms?

I'm using Dreamweaver 2.

Please help!

 

[TulsaJeff]

No...not really but you do need to use a script. There are a ton of them out there and sometimes your web host will provide one. Who is your ISP? Ya' Gotta Love It!X-)

 

[JennyW]

Hi,
I'm gonna use

http://www.hostrocket.com

What do you mean, "you need to use a script"? What kind of script?

Thanks

 

[TulsaJeff]

Hi Jenny

You need a CGI script. It is basically a set of instructions that your browser understands. It tells the browser to send your form to the server and perform a certain function and then send back the result. i.e. you fill out a form to submit you email address to a mailing list. It submits your mailing address and then sends back a confirmation that it is complete. It will then probably send the mailing list company an email that tells them they have a new subscriber. You could also use perl or php which is beyond my ability to explain but works along the same lines as CGI.

Check out this link.

http://www.webmasterbase.com/article.php/348

there is a CGI forum also that may help you better than I can Ya' Gotta Love It!X-)

 

[clownkevin]

Well strictly speaking you don't need a script. You can send a form using the client's email program thus:
<form action=&quot;mailto:your emailaddress&quot; method=POST enctype=&quot;text/plain&quot;> Then continue with your inputs, etc

 

[unicorn11]

there are many ways to do this if ur host is nt then for a custom mailer you can use asp or a cgi

or if it is linux then use cgi

regards Unicorn11
unicorn11@mailcity.com

[red]Luck is not chance, it's toil; fortune's expensive
smile is earned.[red]

 

[TulsaJeff]

technically speaking...this is true....you can use a mailto as shown above, however...from my understanding it will show up in your email as a long unparsed string. For a short form this may not be a huge problem but in a long form this would be a little cumbersome. cgi,perl, etc. basically parses the info and makes a little sense out of it then sends it to your email box. The mailto is very rarely used nowadays. Ya' Gotta Love It!X-)

 

[clownkevin]

No, it's quite neat in response actually, it's disadvantage is that it uses the clients email progam instead of doing it all server side, ie the user may have to send email before you get it

 

[Guest_imported]

The mailto link does not really work. So I guess we have to use CGI Scripting or ASP to work with forms. I have the same problem and have been trying to solve it.

 

[johntabita]

Here's a link to a free CGI script that I've used sucessfully many times:

http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/formmail.shtml

It includes instructions for setting it up. You don't need to be a programmer to get it working. My hosting company was a great help the first time I used it. Since then, it's a breeze!

Good luck.

 

[clownkevin]

Certainly formmail is great if you have cgi-bin and remember to set the permissions
However I am puzzled why you think the mailto link doesn't work? It is perfect for me on several forms I have up, e.g.

http://homepages.tesconet/~pruespost/book.htm

The good thing about it is that it works with any hosting, even geocities etc that have no cgi facilities available

 

[johntabita]

Here's a link that talks about why using &quot;mailto&quot; is unreliable:

http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol3/form_no4.htm

 

[Guest_imported]

Thank You John
The URL link you gave is very useful not only for forms but also for other web design tips.