BKCGIPW3.RVW   960523
 
"CGI Programming on the World Wide Web", Shishir Gundavaram, 1996, 1-56592-168-
2, U$29.95/C$42.95
%A   Shishir Gundavaram shishir@bu.edu
%C   103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA   95472
%D   1996
%G   1-56592-168-2
%I   O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
%O   U$29.95/C$42.95 800-998-9938 707-829-0515 fax: 707-829-0104 nuts@ora.com
%P   433
%S   Nutshell Handbook
%T   "CGI Programming on the World Wide Web"
 
The author has put together very comprehensive coverage of CGI (Common Gateway
Interface) programming, touching on basic forms, server and CGI includes,
graphics and multimedia, advanced and multiple forms, gateways, and database
queries.  In addition, while the bulk of the examples are in Perl, there are
comparative samples of C, Visual Basic, and Applescript sources.
 
Unfortunately, Gundavaram does not handle the basics as well as the fancy
stuff.  He relies too heavily on the code itself, while his explanations and
comments are unclear and unhelpful.  The "how" seems to be left behind in the
hurry to do something interesting.  The Perl wizard will likely find it easy
enough to follow the code, but the beginning CGI programmer, however
experienced in other areas, is going to find the book very difficult.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996   BKCGIPW3.RVW   960523

======================
roberts@decus.ca         rslade@vcn.bc.ca         slade@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
"We are all agreed that your theory is crazy.  The question which divides us is
whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct.  My own feeling
is that it is not crazy enough."       -- Niels Bohr
Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)