Chapter 20. CGI Scripting and Alternatives

When a web browser (or other web client) requests a page from a web server, the server may return either static or dynamic content. Serving dynamic content involves server-side web programs that generate and deliver content on the fly, often based on information that is stored in a database. The one longstanding Web-wide standard for server-side programming is known as CGI, which stands for Common Gateway Interface. In server-side programming, a client sends a structured request to a web server. The server runs another program, passing the content of the request. The server captures the output of the other program, and sends that output to the client as the response to the original request. In other words, the server's role is that of a gateway between the client and the other program. The other program is called a CGI program or CGI script.

CGI enjoys the typical advantages of standards. When you program to the CGI standard, your program can be deployed on different web servers, and work despite the differences. This chapter focuses on CGI scripting in Python. It also mentions the downsides of CGI (basically, issues of scalability under high load) and some of the alternative, nonstandard server-side architectures that you can use instead of CGI.

This chapter assumes that you are familiar with both HTML and HTTP. For reference material on both of these standards, see Webmaster in a Nutshell, by Stephen Spainhour and Robert Eckstein (O'Reilly). For detailed coverage of HTML, I recommend HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide, by Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy (O'Reilly). And for additional coverage of HTTP, see the HTTP Pocket Reference, by Clinton Wong (O'Reilly).