CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface. It is a standard for allowing a web server to run programs that interact with the remote client requesting information from it or sending information to it. Some practical applications of CGI include programs that process input from web forms, programs that generate random images, guestbooks, chat pages, etc.

CGI programs can be written in several different programming languages. Perl is probably the most common. Both a good knowledge of UNIX and a knowledge of how a web server works are crucial components of writing good CGI programs. In order for the web server to recognize a cgi program, the program either have a filename extension that has been specified to the server as the extension for cgi programs, or the program must reside in a directory specified to the web server as a location for cgi programs. PRIMUS can provide the latter, by creating a directory named "cgi-bin", where you can keep your cgi programs. For pricing, consult our shared host services page.

PRIMUS offers a few CGI scripts for public use. Some configuration is necessary to
get them to work properly with your web site, but we've already done the programming for you.

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