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Question: What is CGI - Java Script - Java and what are they for?

Answer: Programming that is available via the web.

Java and JavaScript are executed from your local computer. CGI is executed from the server

Java Script is basically interpreted on the fly - no compiling. Java Script is typically inside of the HTML file.

Java is more powerful - it is compiled and those files (called classes) must be uploaded to your web site to reside with your html files.

CGI usually refers to a different programming language (either Perl or C). The languages are extremely powerful and many ISP's do not allow public access to the of cgi-bin type directories.

JavaScript --

you've been here (staring at this page) for

Java --

Javascript and Java are executed or ran from your computer. They are not returning any information to the server. The programs are sent to your computer ran there and that is the end of the story.

CGI programs gather data from your activity and submit that information to the server for processing. The server takes that information and runs the program. It can then record the results and display information pertaining to the data that you entered or activities on the page.

The quizzes that are on this site (Internet Basics 101) are written in Javascript. I do not record the results. I can not tell you what your score was. I can not tell what you missed. If you want to see a quiz that is done with cgi scripts you can look at an excel quiz that I did. This quiz (done in Perl - a CGI programming language) records your name - e-mail - each answer - your overall score.

Question: Is this easy to do?

    Answer: Yes and no - I guess it depends on your background. The programming is pretty straight forward. There are several books on the subject. Many even have titles leading you to believe that you can learn all you need to know in 21 days. It is basically learning to program. If you have any programming experience - no - it's not too bad.
Question: If I wanted to start - where would you recommend starting?

    Answer: Javascript is the easiest - requires no compiler and works regardless of how your web site is being served. If you view the source of this page you will see the programming required to do display how log you've been looking at this page.
Question: Can Java or Java Script work with CGI?

    Answer: Yes. Data entered through a Java or Java Script file can be passed to a CGI program. They don't have to but they can work together.

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