1.1 What it is.

Simply put: Scripts are programs that you can 'run' on your webpage.

CGI (The Common Gateway Interface) is the method by which a web server can obtain data from (or send data to) databases, documents, and other programs, VIA the web.

By using Cgi, together with a programming language like Perl, you can create cgi-scripts. These 'scripts' are considered to be small pieces of code or programs, each with a specific purpose in mind. For example, a script named login.cgi will most likely contain textcode (concerned with webpage security), handling some or other login procedure.

1.2 What scripts are used for?

While surfing the internet, you may have come across some or more of the following before:

Script (Program)	Function
Forums	Different types exists: chat services, discussion boards;
Guest book	A forum for site visitors to leave you comments, ideas, etc;
Voting poll	Polls used to get the general public's opinion on certain topics.
Banner / add	These are seen nearly everywhere - those advertisements that keep changing and slows down page loading.
Counter	A script (program) counting the number of visitors to a site/page;

1.3 Installing scripts on your server.

1.3.1 What you will need.

You may need any of the following services/software, depending on the course you choose to take in 1.3.2.

Service/Software	Purpose/Function
Extraction software (Like Winzip)	To extract compressed files (.zip)
Ftp connectivity client software (Like Cuteftp)	Software allowing you to transfer files to and from your webserver.

You will need some Ftp connectivity software allowing you to transfer files to and from your webserver. See the Ftp tutorial on how to upload files.
The Ftp client should provide the functionality of chmoding/setting the file permissions for you.

1.3.2 General instructions on how to install scripts on your server

If your scripts came in compressed format, you will need to first extract the file using any of the following extraction utilities:

Tool	General function
Winzip	Extracting .zip files
Winrar	Extracting .rar files
Winace	Extracting .ace files

Each tool has its own helpfiles on extracting compressed files.

Once extracted, find and read the readme file for instructions on the installation process.
It will typically tell you to:

...transfer (upload) the extracted files to certain directories on your host. See the ftp tutorial for this.
...set the required file/directory permissions. See the ftp tutorial for this.
...load the setup utility into your browser: This generally means that you should load the extracted setup.cgi file (that is now on your host) into your browser as follows: http://www.mydomain.com/cgi-bin/mydir/mydir2/setup.cgi <enter>
These setup programs will generally request the paths where you uploaded the program on your host.

If all went well, you can finally start using the software by following the link provided at the end of the setup process.

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