reference books

[dssquirt]

I have been doing web design for several years. Now we have started our own company and I need to know in the area of cgi scripts and cold fusion. Can anyone recommend a couple of good reference books? I know there are some good tutorials on the web, but I don't like to sit and read large amounts of data on a monitor.

[blastradius]

cgi scripting is a little to old school for me(no offence to any cgi scripters) so I have never taken the time to learn it. But I have taught myself cold fusion MX. And would recommend the book I use which was "Cold Fusion MX - The Complete Reference"

I liked it enough that I have bought an ASP.net book by the same publisher.

[prateeksha]

Hello...

how r u?..

it is nice to know that you have started out on your own. I know the feeling and the pain. i wish you best of luck.

anyway, try "CGI-How to" a good book that really give the working source code and explain the details. it goes directly to implementation of cgi in a website.

Also try to use open source software. it is cheaper and a lot of help is available on the net. coldfusion is not opensource. but you can use php and mysql to get the done.

also last thing, i may sound cynical, but there is no gain without no pain. you have to read large amount of text or buy a book to gain some knowledge but there are no short-cut.

thanks

sumeet

[cyanide]

Welcome dssquirt and prateeksha to WebProWorld,

I have to agree a little with blastradius,
I would tend to want to move away from cgi/perl scripts.
Books ofcourse are good to read, but nothing compares to actually playing with a script to see how it works.

[Narasinha]

Originally Posted by cyanide

Welcome dssquirt and prateeksha to WebProWorld,

I have to agree a little with blastradius,
I would tend to want to move away from cgi/perl scripts.
Books ofcourse are good to read, but nothing compares to actually playing with a script to see how it works.

Awwww..... But cyanide, I like Perl!!

Actually, unless you intend to delve into more serious programming, it would probably be wise to stick with more of an "off-the-shelf" approach. If you have a server where you can run PHP, mySQL, and/or ColdFusion, they are excellent resources for adding to the functionality of web sites. Many pre-programmed packages are available to take advantage of these platforms, as well as ready-made CGI scripts in Perl.

I used to write proprietary catalog sites with CGI in Perl. I used Perl's ODBC module to connect to SQL and MS Access databases. That was in 1996. With the tools available now, I could do in two hours what once would have taken all week.

[dssquirt]

Thanks everyone. I have actually been thinking of delving into Cold Fusion, but I am not ready to spend the money yet on another program. I have no problem with doing lots of reading and playing with scripts. I just like to have a reference book that I can mark things up and underline. I will probably look for the cgi how to book and maybe in a couple of months go for the Cold Fusion.

[cyanide]

Originally Posted by Narasinha

Awwww..... But cyanide, I like Perl!!

Sorry !!
- it's those bloody Internal Server Errors that drive me mad !

[mysticlighthouse]

I seem to like the Bibles. I have the Coldfusion MX Bible because the Flash MX ActionScript Bible and Dreamweaver Bible were so good. You can't go wrong with a little religion in your coding ;-)

[vfaulkner]

Having worked in a bookstore, these are some of my favorites:
-Peachpit Press, Visual QuickStart Guide to______
-SAM'S, Teach Yourself________
-The ________COMPLETE series by SYBEX
-the USING_______ series by QUE
-anything from O'Reilly
-anything from WROX

I am a big supporter of indices, tables of content, and browsing. Why buy a book if it doesn't give the information needed?

ADDED: After reading back over thread, I realized you were looking for specific subject. my list still holds though.
VQSG to PERL and CGI for the WWW
CGI Complete
Teach yourself CGI
O'REILLY
friends of ED Press, has some good CF as does the author Ben Forta.
HTH!