I'm REALLY dumb at this

They have: 17 posts

Joined: Sep 2000

I'll openly admit that I have no clue about the possibilities of CGI/Perl Scripting and what they can offer. But I do know just enought that I know I ought to get on the learning curve before It gets too far ahead of me.

my question is this. before I can even get started, I foud out that my ISP does not offer CGI-BIN access. do i need to change ISP's or can I get access to a CGI-BIN somewhere else? I really would prefer not to have to change ISP's since he is local and provides kick-butt service. I am on wonderful terms with him and can basically call my shots there. . . .

The better option is that I would be able to find CGI-BIN access somewhere else.....Is that a realistic possibility?

Todd Stephens
Owner - Hudspeth House B&B - www.hudspethinn.com
Webmaster/Network Admin - Paramount Terrace Christian Church - www.ptcc.org
Webmaster - www.amarilloweb.net

They have: 334 posts

Joined: Dec 1999

You can get free CGI access from sites that will remotely host apps for you. So if you wanted to have a forum or a guestbook or anything else that needed CGI, you'd sign up for an account with the provider. Then you'd used slightly customized versions of the apps they provide that stay running on their servers. You merely link to the pages.

The benefits:
1) Easy - No knowledge needed. Just set a few a few variables like background color and you're off and running.
2) No resources used - The programs run on the providers server, not your own. So they won't bog things down locally.
3) Available - If you have no CGI access, remotely hosted apps beat having none at all.

The downside:
1) You get what you pay for - Reliability is a big issue. Speed is usually terrible.
2) Limited customization - You're locked into using the apps they provide. You might get to set fonts and colors, but that's about it. Forget about changing things you don't like, adding additional features or getting things to work a different way.
3) Image - It looks really lowbrow when a supposedly professional site is using CGI hosted by some free provider.

For an example of what's available from a remote CGI hosting service, check out http://www.bravenet.com

They have: 117 posts

Joined: Mar 2000

http://www.virtualave.net is a free webspace provider that give you your own cgi-bin. However, you have to put their banners on your page.

--Edge

They have: 13 posts

Joined: Aug 2000

check out http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Remotely_Hosted/ for a big list of sites that host CGI scripts for you. hope that helps...

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