CGI and Perl
CGI (Common Gateway Interface) is a mechanism to connect web pages to (almost always non-Java) software
on the server. Perl is a scripting language usually used to make the input for the server software ready
(think about options and attributes), and to translate the output from the server software in a form suitable
for the web browser.
The combination of both is very often used to web-enable old software ("legacy") written in older computer
languages such as Fortran, C, Cobol, PL1, ...
In the past, we have used CGI and Perl in order to web-enable computer chemistry programs such as
XLogP and
MOPAC.
Computer Chemistry Consultancy, June 2001