Product Description
This book teaches readers all they need to know to create custom programs for the World Wide Web. Introduction to CGI/Perl: Getting Started with Web Scripts begins with a complete review of communication technology and then introduces the essentials of the Perl language and the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). It features detailed coverage of all HTML form elements, text processing, management with Perl, receiving input and producing output, and customized client-server interaction with http; including explanations of protocol nuances such as GET and POST. All code and extra examples are available from an online appendix.Amazon.com Review
An important guide for developing dynamic content and forms to add impact and interaction to Web sites. Brenner is the author of cgi-lib.pl, the de facto standard library for creating CGI scripts with Perl.Used for everything from NASA space data to Byte Magazine's on-line comment box, this library makes CGI scripting intuitive and fun.

If you want to see an excerpt from this book, look below, or click on the title. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

An excellent intro to a tough topic
I was looking for a book which would get me started in Perl scripting as painlessly as possible. This book was all that and more. I am now thinking of taking up Perl scripting as a profession.

Good Book
This book was brief and informative, with enough tutorial scripts to get you going. The only drawback, is the only online reference (the author had set up a page with all relevant links) is to a page that has moved, due tothe publisher being bought out. (frustrating, but still worth it)

A great Intro to Perl!
I thought this book was excellent, it was a little short, but still good.My actual rating would be 4.5 stars, this is because once it gets into chapter 3 pretty deep, I lost my self and had to read it over a coupletimes, and instead of using cgi-lib.pl, I'd rather know how to do it fromscratch.

Overall though a great book! c'ya

A Good Introduction... Not a Tutorial
If you are bright, and you want to understand the concept of Perl, this book will get you started. You probably will not come away able to write any programs, although you will gain some tools for doing so. I have notyet found a single book to get people started with Perl, but a combinationof this book, "Learning Perl" and "The Perl CGICookbook" makes a good beginner library.

It's gives more code than explain.
This was a good book. I give 4 stars because it is an introduction. But i really wished i payed attention to the title "Introduction to cgi/perl" This book also did not explain things that well, especiallywhen they got deep into the tr/ / / parts. overall it's a good book though:) ... Read more

Product Description
Based on the classic Enid Blyton stories these fabulous hardback gift books incorporate up to date CGI artwork and the storytelling skills of a master.When Noddy decides to lend a hand it isn't long before things are going a little bit wrong!Luckily, Big-Ears is there to make sure everything is all right. ... Read more

Product Description
Join Noddy and all his Toy Town friends in this fantastic bumper book of stories from Toyland plus lots of fun activities to keep Noddy fans busy!Toyland's an amazing and magical place to be! Travel there time after time with this collection of five Make Way for Noddy stories and lots of fun activities including colouring, counting, matching and spot the difference. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Noddy Big Fun Storybook
We purchased this book for our four year old grandson who loves Noddy and Bigears. This book is an excellent buy, the pages are filled with beautiful colors and images. It is not just a story book, there are games and puzzles, coloring pages, a magical maze in the center of the book with bumpy dog trying to get to the naughty goblins, and much much more. The pictures in the book almost look like 3D, the colors are vibrant.Highly recommended, a book a child will keep forever and pass on to his children. ... Read more

Product Description
JavaScript is the language of the web, used in programming all the major browsers. It is a powerful scripting language that lets web developers produce more powerful, more user-friendly and more interactive web pages, and with the release of the Version 5 browsers its power will become even greater. JavaScript is not just for client-side, however; it's increasingly finding favour as a server side programming language- in Microsoft's ASP technology- and as a programming language for administration tasks with applications such as the Windows Scripting Host.

This book covers the broad spectrum of programming JavaScript - from the core language to browser applications and server-side use to stand-alone and embedded JavaScript. It includes a guide to the language - when where and how to get the most out of JavaScript - together with practical case studies demonstrating JavaScript in action. Coverage is bang up-to-date, with discussion of compatability issues and version differences, and the book concludes with a comprehensive reference section. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

Fantastic book - is there version 3?
I have version 2 of the book and it is fantastic! Seems each of the experts wrote about his/her field and the result is very in-depth study. The book's coding is still actual though it dealt with IE 4 and 5. What I want is to find version 3 that deals deal the more current IE 6 release - but they probably never published it.

Needs Improvement
And yes, another WROX. No formal organization, no definte goal, but a whole bunch of high class authors. The result: an excellent book if you're looking for examples of that little twist of class, a dash of luster code.

There are excellent case studies that make this a good addition to your bookshelf and there are valuable hints scattered everywhere: but the total lack of organization and tutorial direction leaves the book like a box full of sharp tools hidden in a dusty attic.

There is no attempt to teach Javascript (perhaps Paul Wilton's excellent Beginner Javascript is intended for that). The section on Good coding Practice is laughable: why does a book entitled *Profesional" Javascript have 2 chapters on programming practices? The Core javascript section is just a bare scratch on the surface of language itself and does not do Javascript any justice. The Jscript.Net seems to have been thrown in as an after thought.

I like WROX for the "from the field" examples for which they are famous: and I found the case studies ( a third of the book) very interesting. However, sorry, Wrox, it's not worth paying that much for just the last chapters. I'll wait till it hits my library or wait for the 3rd edition.

Over 1000 pages of nothing
This book is terrible - it's incredibly frustating to use. It's worthless as a reference and I doubt that anyone has ever read it cover to cover (including the army of authors that wrote it). I have over 10 years of experience in software development in a wide variety of languages: C++, VB, Pascal, and others. What I need to know about JavaScript could probably fit in a book half this size. This book is over 1000 pages, it's poorly organized, the index is bad, and it doesn't focus on relevant facts about the language. If I want lots of prose I'll pick up a novel, not a JavaScript book.

Everything you wanted to learn on JavaScript is in the book
Including the discussion on JScript.NET. Excellent coverage on JavaScript, providing practical solutions. A must to have book for every Web developer.

AWESOME!
If you are a beginner, think twice about this one. This is for the Pros. This book is seriously packed with improvements and deep explanations that you won't find anywhere else. With tons of pages and code samples to download covering everything you every wanted to know about web scripting with JavaScript. This is a definate keeper in your library!!... ... Read more

Product Description
This sequel to CGI Programming 101 shows you how to tackle advanced multi-script CGI projects by creating your own Web message board. This book covers:

* Site Design: Who is your site for? What tasks will visitors perform?
* MySQL Database Design
* Developing a central module for your project
* How to choose, download and install Perl modules from CPAN
* How to filter out HTML tags from messages
* How to limit the number of messages displayed per page
* How to create a password-protected administration area for your message board, with scripts to let you manage the board
* How to expire old messages automatically
* How to convert your message board scripts into a Web Log ("blog") for online journals or news stories

This book assumes you have some CGI programming experience. If you're just starting out, you should pick up a copy of CGI Programming 101 and work through that first. ... Read more

Product Description
CGI/Perl teaches users how to write CGI programs using the Perl programming language, the most common way Web sites accept orders over the Internet. Users begin the book with an introduction to the Perl language and progress into developing forms and graphics using CGI. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great introduction to server side programming
I am using this book for a class on server side programming.This book is not an in depth coverage of perl, its many modules, or even how to connect to a database.My college Baker uses this as an introduction, but before using this book we are required to take a class on introductory programming, then HTML/Xhtml/CSS, then a class on Unix/linux(which covers basic shell scripting) then another class on Dreamweaver and web design, then Javascript, once we have taken all of those we take this class as an introduction to server side scripting.We have to use this book to get used to writing and running scripts and working with a server, not so much to learn Perl, this class is required before we can take a class on PHP sever scripting.This book is meant to prepare us for learning PHP server scripting, most of the concepts in this book transfer directly.

The book is short and straight to the point, if you read it carefully you will do fine.If a college is using this book without properly preparing students it is the colleges fault.I also think many of the students in Comp Sci programs are not actually cut out for computer science.Computer Science concepts are very hard, and you have to love everything about computer science, actually be a real geek to excel.I own at least 200 books on all subjects of computer science, including 16 books on Perl alone.From my experience no one book covers all concepts in detail.

This book will show you how scripts work with html forms and process information on the server, that is all it is meant to do, if you want to know Perl in dept, then you may want the Perl by Example book, which I am reading along with this book.If you have no programming experience, then you may want to learn the basics of programming before attempting this book, it will not explain how to program.

Many people have a very hard time with programming classes, and other Computer Science, IT concepts.I love all of it and blast right through these books, my main goal is to master these concepts, I currently have a 4.0gpa and go entirely online, which is really hard since you have no one to directly ask questions.But I have been teaching my self for several years, I started while working on a boring degree in Accounting, which did no good for getting me a job, even though I graduated with a 4.0gpa.

If you are not obsessed with computer science concepts maybe you should consider a different field of study and work, many people start these programs and soon drop out that is why there is a shortage of people entering the field, there is absolutely nothing easy about it.I find it to be fascinating and my brain will not stop thinking and wanting to know more, to me all of it is fun to learn, no matter how hard or complicated.

A decade out of date and caught in the mire of drudgery..
Of all the IT related books I've owned and used this has to be the second worst, and I've had a lot.

I own a rather extensive library of computer technology books, most are well weathered, dog eared, and marked up with highlighters and notes in the margins. I use them all the time - even the outdated ones.

But not this book. It is excrutiatingly tedious, and the other students in my class are constantly having problems with it that require them to depend upon the more advanced students to explain subject matter in a straight-forward and concise manner.

This book covers, in 348 pages, what most of the classic Perl books and books on CGI cover in about 4 or 5 chapters. This book doesn't even introduce 'here-doc' formats until page 276 - and then only briefly and coverage using that standard format for generating CGI with that method is virtually abandonded throughout the rest of the book.

The book begins using CGI.pm without even explaining what a Perl module is, and coverage and usage of other modules that have been around for years are virtually non-existent. DBI isn't even really part of this 'course', and it's the framework for using CGI in the first place.

This book follows the following format: Type this in exactly like this. Now do this. now do this. Gee! Aren't we learning? The one thing that I can say was written well are the end of the chapter questions. They really provide good coverage. It's simply "Programmed instruction", stiff, rigid, and with a complete lack of insightful gleanings.

This is a really BAD book (and I don't mean BAD as in BOSS or NEATO either), yet fortunately, I have other Perl books that I can turn to instead for learning the content covered in the course, and write my own code to generate the HTML output that my instructors assignments ask for.

Oh, did I mention the infinitesimally small text that dictates what to type? I'm not kidding when I say I have to use a magnifying glass.

Avoid this book like the plague!

Abhorrent!



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Out of Date but still helpful
I needed this book for a class I am taking on Interactive Web Design.Overall I found the book information sufficient for the class, though it's use of Perl rather than what I would consider a more robust language such as PHP as a let down.I am sure at the time of writing the choice of language was much more meaningful but that was nine years ago and it is time for an update.

A students view
As an online student my opinion is that this book is not good at all. I am taking the same course for the second time,and struggling again.
Perhaps this book would be fine in an "on campus" environment, but where there is no instructor to get help face to face, a better book is definitely needed. I just ordered "Perl Black Book" and "Perl Cookbook" which were recommended by an online tutor.
Hopefully they arrive quickly, and can help me get through the course this time around.

special purpose book
I have used this book for teaching a Perl/CGI course at a post-secondary technical college. Course Technologies usually does a good job with their instructional material and this is no exception. I have also used other texts by Diane Zak, and they are all first rate. This is a great book for teaching server side scripting in a non-academic setting.

WARNING: This isn't a Perl book so don't expect to learn Perl, although this will certainly get you started. It isn't a CGI book. It isn't an architecture book. It's not a web design book. It doesn't cover database connectivity. It's special purpose is to get you up and running using Perl for server side scripting, and for this purpose it does an excellant job, and I have no problem giving it 5 stars for this special purpose. ... Read more