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6. HTML Tools

6.1. CGI Gateway Programming

This is the most generic method of processing the contents of HTML FORMs. The most commonly used language for programming CGI is Perl, but it is possible to use any language or programming system that can be invoked from a command-line-like syntax. Which covers a lot of ground. Under Unix and Unix-like operating systems, there are too many possible language choices to count. (There are too many families of kinds of languages to count!) There exists an MVS-based CGI server that can invoke programs written in any language that uses "standard IBM call parameters," which would certainly include PL/I, C, Pascal, FORTRAN, COBOL, SNOBOL, SPITBOL, REXX, amongst many others. LISP and APL are probably the most unusual languages about which I have heard of specific CGI use.

6.2. HTML Editors

These tools typically provide buttons and menus so that point-and-click-twits can feel comfortable about making use of the extreme complexities of HTML.

More useful is the fact that many of these editors contain validators of one variety or another to allow the author to be sure that they've created valid HTML.

6.3. Converters

6.4. Other Web-based Software Systems

6.4.1. HTML Preprocessors

  • CHPP - Chakotay PreProcessor

    CHPP combines features of CPP, M4 , Perl and Scheme. Still, we have tried (and succeeded) to keep the language pretty simple. Among the features of CHPP are:

    • CHPP is non-intrusive, i.e. you can take already existing text and just pipe it through CHPP and it is likely it won't change.

    • User-defined macros , which can be recursive

    • Complex data structures (lists and hashes)

    • Regular expression matching

    • Powerful loop constructs

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