Library Overview

The GNU cgicc library contains classes divided into two broad groups, CGI classes and response generation classes.

CGI classes

CGI classes are used to query and manipulate CGI data, including information on the HTTP server, the current request, and the submitted form data.

cgicc::Cgicc is the main class of the cgicc library. It is used to retrieve information on specific HTML form elements (such as checkboxes, radio buttons, and text fields), on uploaded files, and to save, restore, and retrieve information on the CGI environment.

cgicc::CgiEnvironment encapsulates the data passed from the HTTP server to the CGI application. This includes all environment variables set by the HTTP server specified in the CGI standard.

cgicc::FormEntry is an immutable class representing a single user entry in an HTML form element such as a text field, a radio button, or a checkbox. A FormEntry is essentially a name/value pair, where the name is the name of the form element as specified in the HTML form itself, and the value is user-entered or user-selected value. FormEntry provides methods allowing access to the value as a string, integer, or double.

cgicc::FormFile is an immutable class representing a file uploaded via the HTTP file upload mechanism. A FormFile is very similar to a FormEntry, but does not provide the numerous methods for accessing the value as different types.

Response generation classes

Response generation classes are used to generate responses to a CGI query. Generally, the response will consist of one or more HTTP headers followed by HTML text, but the CGI application may return data of any type. The response generation classes are subdivided into two groups:

  1. HTTP header classes
    HTTP header classes are used to indicate to the client information on the data being returned as a result of the CGI request. For example, standard HTTP headers indicate the type, size, and modification date of the transmitted data.

    An cgicc::HTTPCookie is a name/value pair used to store a piece of information about the caller using the caller's own machine. Cookies are often used as a means to identify users. Any of cgicc's header classes may contain an arbitrary number of cookies.

    cgicc::HTTPHeader is the base class for all simple HTTP headers. It is rarely used directly; instead, use one of the provided subclasses.

    cgicc::HTTPContentHeader is a subclass of cgicc::HTTPHeader used to indicate the type of data returned to the client by the CGI application.

    cgicc::HTTPRedirectHeader is a subclass of cgicc::HTTPHeader used to redirect the client to a different URL.

    cgicc::HTTPStatusHeader is a subclass of cgicc::HTTPHeader used to return a 3-digit HTTP status code and the associated message.

    cgicc::HTTPHTMLHeader is a subclass of cgicc::HTTPContentHeader used for data of MIME type text/html.

    cgicc::HTTPPlainHeader is a subclass of cgicc::HTTPContentHeader used for data of MIME type text/plain.

    cgicc::HTTPResponseHeader is a more powerful, generic HTTP header class used to construct a full HTTP response.

  2. HTML generation classes
    HTML generation classes are used to generate an HTML response following any HTTP headers. To be compliant with the HTML 4.0 standard, the response must consist of three parts (For a complete description see the HTML 4.0 specification at

    • A line containing the HTML version information
    • A declarative header section (delimited by the head element)
    • A body, which contains the document's actual content

      The cgicc library provides one class for each HTML element defined in the HTML 4.0 specification. In all cases, the name of the class corresponds to the name of the HTML element. cgicc tries to produce SGML (and therefore XML) compliant output- thus, atomic elements such as br as rendered as <br />.

      There are two special HTML classes defined by cgicc:

      cgicc::HTMLDoctype is used to specify the HTML version information as required by the HTML 4.0 standard

      cgicc::comment is used to indicate an HTML comment

Copyright © 1996 - 2004 Stephen F. Booth