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Tips for your CGIDEV2 initial learning
this means Version 2
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  1. have some fun first
    Run the CGIDEV2 link to Boats catalog demo Boats catalog demo, just to appreciate what you can do with CGI's written with CGIDEV2
  2. if you do not know anything about HTML
    walk to a library and by a booklet on html. It doesn't have to be a thick html reference manual (you'll buy that later, perhaps), what you need is a quick walk through and a syntax primer for the most common html commands.
    As an alternative, you may access our classic link HTML tutorial and have your home study on HTML.
    On the other site you will learn a lot just browsing the source of the html pages that you see. As an example, to browse the source of this html page clicking on this page with the right mouse and select View page source
  3. get some introduction on what is a CGI and on the benefits of CGIDEV2 service program.
    • link Read our page on benefits of CGIDEV2 service program
    • link Read Giovanni's flyer on RPG CGI development with CGIDEV2
    • link Read Giovanni's editorial on RPG CGI development with CGIDEV2
  4. read the basics of CGIDEV2 service program
    Go to the link to CGI Tutorial first page of our CGI tutorial, and read down to and including Main functions
    Just grab the idea of how you can work using CGIDEV2 service program to interface the HTTP APIs instead of calling them directly. The basic services are
    • get the input string from a remote browser
    • parse this input string
    • use an externally defined html skeleton member to produce your output html as a response to the remote browser
  5. look how these basics are implemented in three small demos:
    • link the CGI used to check out your AS/400 http server, Hello.
    • link a CGI providing you with its opinion about any subject of your choice
    • link a CGI which teaches how to substitute subfiles with HTML tables, "Our delivery times".
  6. look how these basics are implemented in one of
    Mel Rothman's Computer Discount House Demos
    These demos ask some input from you and provide it as output html to your browser, as the CGI behind it were your echo.
    The nice of this demos is that they allows you to check whether the CGI's behind them work all right or not.
    linkTry!
  7. if you need more advanced examples ...
    • link Get inside our Boats Catalog Demo
    • Start learning from sources Use our facility Learn from Sources to go through the sources of our CGIs.
  8. now it's your turn
    Add an html input variable to one of the Mel's Computer Discount House Demos (we suggest you take nuber 3 of them): for instance, What is your preferred pet.
    • Implement this input question in the bootstrap html (member talk13 in file cgidev2/htmlsrc)
    • Add the response scheme in the external html (member talk2 in file cgidev2/htmlsrc)
    • Then change the ILE-RPG program (member template3 in file cgidev2/qrpglesrc) so that it echoes the input value to the response html.
  9. your first CGI
    Then develop your first CGI. FAQ number 7 summarizes what you have to do to be successful.
    As soon as your first CGI runs, you get an AS/400 CGI apprentice license.
  10. your manual has a name:
    AS/400 eSeries - HTTP Server for AS/400 - Web Programming Guide,
    Document number GC41-5435
    For more information, please consult our bibliography.