CGI

CGI allows you to create pages that will let a user send you information via a fill out form, search a database, and more. CGI is a standard for running programs via a web server. It specifies how the program and the Web must interact, therefore it acts as a Common Gateway Interface between them.

For security reasons, we don't allow users to install CGI scripts on our server. However we have a number of useful scripts already available. They include scripts for receiving input from a form, searching text and more.

List of Approved CGI Scripts for Use at Columbia

Basic Form Fields

All forms must start with the tag <form> and end with the tag </form>. Within the <form> tag you specify the CGI script it must use. For example, if you are using our generic-inbox script for a page on our Web server, your <form> tag would look like this:

<form method=POST action="/cgi-bin/generic-inbox.pl">

(For more about the specifics of the generic-inbox script, see its instructions.)

<input type="text">

Be sure to include a name
<input type="text" name="address">

<input type="checkbox">include a name that is unique for each "checkbox" in
a set
<input type="checkbox" name="tea">

and a value that is the same 
<input type="checkbox" name="tea" value="yes"> 
<input type="checkbox" name="milk" value="yes">

<input type="radio">

include a name that is the same for each "radio" button
in a set
<input type="radio" name="tea">

and a value that is unique
for each "radio" button
<input type="radio" name="tea" value="black"> 
<input type="radio" name="tea" value="green">

<textarea>
</textarea>

include a name
<textarea name="comments">
</textarea>

<input type="submit">

give it a value if you want control over
how the button is labeled. Otherwise you 
get the browser's default label. 
so you could also say
<input type="submit" value=" send it ">