Overview

A Web server can

• return (static) documents to browser, and
• execute programs and return output to browser.

Terminology:

• Forms provide input to executable programs
• Scripts are executable programs

Scripts let

• Web servers custom-tailor pages (e.g., FedEx package status; PC vendor price computation)
• users access databases and other non-HTML data

Example

Following is a sample form.

Who Is Logged On Host ei.cs.vt.edu?

When you click the SUBMIT button, a list of users currently logged onto host ei.cs.vt.edu will be displayed.

Here is the HTML that generated the form:

<H2>Who Is Logged On Host ei.cs.vt.edu?</H2>

 <P>When you click the <I>SUBMIT</I> button, a list of users currently
logged onto host ei.cs.vt.edu will be displayed.

<FORM METHOD=GET
      ACTION="http://ei.cs.vt.edu/cgi-bin/wwwbtb/SampleForm.pl">

<INPUT TYPE=SUBMIT NAME="submit" VALUE="Run Command">

</FORM>

FORM tag identifies

• presence of a form
• METHOD: How to send form data typed by user to server (e.g., GET or POST)
• ACTION: URL of script to execute (SampleForm.pl)

INPUT tag says where to put buttons, fill-in fields, etc.

Return to CS6204 home page.

Last modified on 22 October 1996.

Send comments to abrams@vt.edu.
[This is http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~wwwbtb/fall.96/ClassNotes/FormsScripts/overview.html.]