We had the web at work in 1994, using the Mosaic web browser and a proxy server. I learned of dynamic content from a French site that showed a different picture on reloads!

I logged into our web server, identified the server process, and figured out where the server was installed. I browsed the server directory and found cgi-bin. I noticed files written in some sort of scripting language. I took home printouts of the scripts.

I spread out the pages on the dining room table. I examined these straightforward yet curious programs for quite a while before looking up at the top of page one:

#!/usr/bin/perl

I had tried to learn perl twice before but had failed both times. I would not fail again!

My odyssey since then has almost, but not quite, exceeded my beliefs in the potiential of this blessed technology.

It should work perfectly the first time! - toma