Web Applications & Form Processing
Processing Web Forms on Central UNIX with mail.form
In general, a Web Application handles input from Web forms that are submitted by a user.
No Custom Web Applications on Central UNIX
Due to inherent security risks, server performance for all users, and the labor-intensive nature of CGI-script review, only the mail.form application is made available on the centrally-managed campus UNIX Web server. No other application scripts are available (or permitted) on this server.
Mail.form Application
This application will take input from a Web form and email it to a Cal Poly email address. We provide a tutorial on how to create a form to use the application.
- Using the mail.form Application to Receive Input From a Web Form - Instructions for Cal Poly Central UNIX account users on how to set up a Web form to use the mail.form application.
You Need a Custom Web Application to Process Forms
For custom Web server applications and forms processing, we suggest that you contact your LAN Coordinator directly to see if your department has these features available for use on their department owned Web server. Visit http://servicedesk.calpoly.edu for a campus listing.
Also, you may want to consider creating a Portal application if this fits your needs.
In order for form input to be returned, there has to be a program available to the Web server to handle the input. Such a program is available to all Cal Poly Web developers; it is called "mail.form". It accepts the input from a Web form, formats it for email delivery, and emails it to a valid Cal Poly email account.