Subject: Re: CGI vs. JavaScript From: howens@tl.com (Howard Owens) Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 14:12:42 +0100

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Scott Anderson wrote:

>Quick (and admittedly broad) question:
>
>Can JavaScript be used instead of CGI to create interactive form, etc., or
>does each language have its own function and uses with little overlap?
>

The quick answer is yes.

If you hunt around (sorry I don't have the URLs handy) there are some
sample javascripts that do form handling. I think they are pretty flexible
and can be easily hacked to fit your specific needs.  I've never used
javascript to handle forms, but I've seen these scripts.  I can't vouch for
their effectiveness.

There is a warning, however: Javascript only runs with the latest and
greatest browsers.  CGI runs will almost all current browsers.

Javascript and  CGI are not mutually exclusive and it should be possible to
create a form that will be handled by javascript, but still work with a CGI
where necessary. If a browser doesn't handle javascript, the CGI script
will handle it instead.  The advantage of this is that javascript runs
client-side so it processes information faster. CGI is server-side and a
client must send the information to the server, wait for a reply and get a
message back saying everything is ok and now do the next task.

I have used client-side maps, which is essentially a basic javascript. They
work very well, for those browsers that support them. I've also seen sites
that use a client-side image map in conjunction with a server-side map.  If
the map-request isn't handled by the client first, the server gets the
request and handles it. This ensures that even older browsers can use the
image map.

Best,
H.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Howard Owens
howens@tl.com
Online Editor
Affinity Group
                                         Roads to Adventure (http://www.tl.com)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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