Language Roles

Computer Language
Let's talk a little bit about the automation of this Web 2.0 that people have been talking about. The reason behind the ability for people to start creating their own content so effortlessly actually lies in the complicated web-programming language that created the social media websites.

CGI
Let's talk somewhat about these powerful tools that I've spent several years learning and perfecting while studying Business Informatics at Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore. First up would of course be "CGI". Of course the term CGI was first widely accepted by the movie industry to describe computer generated effects. But in internet terms, CGI was the first innovation of interactivity between a static and a dynamic webpage.

PERL
Let me paint a simpler picture, with CGI which was written in the PERL programming language, it allowed for the first time, a web-server to recognize userless input from the browser's terminal and connect form information directly into a database instead of merely churning out text files.

Application
Among the things available to the PERL programmer were, the user's IP address, Ping information, Traceroute information, basically identifying information on whether or not this user is a repeat user based on IP addressing and also the powerful ability to link up in real time to databases using a database driver on the server side. It's like knowing the past, present and future. The applications for this were immense, the possibilities endless.

The Lost
While PERL has officially been relegated away as a piece of old technology, it still lives on in many older companies' websites. The next time you surf our wonderful government's or even established banks' websites, look out for any URLs with "/cgi-bin/" or "/cgi/" in them. Why? Because these are webpage still generated by PERL using the CGI method of execution. So damn cool huh? We're living along technological dinosaurs and few if any notice.

The Now
So what's the most widely used languages on the web right now? HTML, XML, ASP, JSP and of course PHP which is the child of PERL. The popularity of PHP is immense now because the language allows reuse of the old PERL webservers with little or no upgrading at all! Just plug in the new language and a semi-new webserver plug in, and it's good to go for another 3-5 more years! It comes complete with a new set of commands, all modifying the old inputs of the legacy CGI execution method. Now who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? In this day and age, the old dog is still the top dog! Alauz Out!

Idiots of today, Geniuses of tomorrow
今日の馬鹿，明日わ天才