HT Docs & CGI

In looking at a website from a technical perspective, we have to mention the point of contact between the browser and the back end of the web server.

As you know, it is common to refer to a website root directory/folder as htdocs – because from here documents are served up using hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP). The next step further into the bowels of the server is a directory/folder often named cgi-bin. The first three letters stand for Common Gateway Interface and BIN indicates binary files. CGI is a merely a route into the scripts, programs, databases and other goodies on the server.

Symbolically, drawing attention to HT Docs and CGI allows us to remind you of the technical contribution we can make to your business by managing the server. One of the most crucial tasks is ensuring that public documents are always available and that access otherwise is restricted as required.

We can also play tricks with the server and deliver custom 404 not found error pages, etc. Of course, we make sure that 404 errors occur only when a user mistypes a URL. We regularly prowl for dead links, etc.

The most interesting thing about CGI is that, as mentioned, it provides the access point for scripts, databases and so on, as discussed next.