What does CGI stand for?

What does CGI stand for? CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface.

CGI is an interface specification that lets a web server run an external program to handle an HTTP or HTTPS request. The program receives request information through defined inputs, processes it, and returns output—often HTML—that the server sends back to the browser.

CGI became important in the early Web because it connected web servers with databases and other existing information systems. The NCSA team described an early CGI specification in 1993, and the method became a common way to make web pages interactive. RFC 3875 later formalized CGI Version 1.1 in 2004.

“Common Gateway Interpreter” is a tempting but incorrect expansion: CGI describes an interface, not a particular interpreter. CGI scripts can be written in scripting languages or compiled languages such as C. Because a new process may be launched for each request, faster server-side techniques later became popular, though CGI remains historically influential.