[WEB4LIB] cgi or php?

[Thomas Dowling]

> Hi all,
>
> Our new ISP has recommended that we convert all our home page cgi
scripts to
> php. We use scripts for a whole range of functions, but php appears to
be
> mainly used for database-type functions (or have a dropped behind the
times
> yet again?)
>

I'm not qualified to comment on the merits of PHP.  However, it is be
design exclusively an HTML-embedded preprocessing language.  Time spent
learning PHP gets you better and better at embedding PHP in HTML.

CGI, however, is not a language, but a definition of how web servers
talk to external programs (the I in CGI is "Interface", of course).  You
can write CGI scripts in any language you choose; it only has to
understand standard input and standard output.  If your choice of
language is sufficiently flexible--like Perl or Tcl, or C, or ksh if you
like--then time spent writing CGI scripts also contributes to your
ability to rapidly hammer out scripts for log analysis, system
management, batch file processing...anything you can think of doing with
your web site or any other computer system.  Being essentially lazy, I
prefer to learn how to use one tool that I can use in the greatest
number of places.

By all means, look into PHP.  If your ISP can make a case for why it's
better *for you* to use it, go ahead.  I'm always dubious about
recommendations like the above because they often boil down to, "It
would be easier *for us* if you completely revised how you do you
pages."

Thomas Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu