CGI is a good place to start out when you're learning how to create Web applications for a number of reasons. It's built into most Web servers, it works with nearly any programming language, and it is platform independent.



This book provides a technical overview of the Common Gateway Interface, and the HTTP protocol. It also contains a number of example programs that you can modify and use on your own site. Additionally, it discusses some alternatives to CGI that can be used to build web applications, and explains why you would want to use other technologies in certain situations.