First, a test URL is: http://mordred.armoredpenguin.com/letters/letters.cgi.

Next, much of the output is controlled by webc, a simple HTML preprocessor that I've written and used for a number of similar jobs. This frees the HTML from the program so that different people can concentrate on their strengths.

The CGI program (letter.cgi) can be installed in any directory you can run CGI programs from. This can be a cgi-bin directory, or possibly a user directory. Under this directory are two main directories, the Template directory and the Letters directory.

The Template directory is used for files which guide the process which are not typically changed. There are some files which are included in others, and set the tone for the entire site. These files end in *.wh.

• defs.wh -- This file does not generate any HTML. It sets up constants that are used through the rest of the package.
• head.wh -- This comes out at the start of each web page. This sets up the title and color. You can also get carried away here, and put up a sidebar for navigation or similar items.
• tail.wh -- This comes out at the end of each web page, and closes off any tables set up in the head.wh file, as well as display contact information and the like.
• appl.error.wc -- This is a catchall error file. You may want to modify this by putting in helpful hints, contact info, etc.
• display.wc -- Display a list of letters. You may want to alter the text which surrounds the selection process. The title of each letter comes from the associated control file.
• letter.wc -- Display a specific letter. The actual letter comes from elsewhere, so this is just the presentation of the letter. You can add additional fields if appropriate.
• thankyou.wc -- The user has sent a letter off. This is the page they come to. You can put additional links or more things they may want to do here.
• envelope.wc -- This isn't a web page, but is used to package the letter to the recipients. The information collected from the user (such as name, email address, US Mail address, etc.) can be used here.

The next directory is the Letters directory. This contains letters and their control files, as well as a list of email addresses. Look at the comments in the files for the information which goes in the files. The letters end in *.txt, and the control files end in *.ctl.

• email.addr -- This is a list of email addresses that the user can send mail to. This program cannot send mail to arbitrary addresses, as it would be used to cause mischief. So this sets the limits. There is a nickname (used in the control files), email address, and the real name and title.
• sample.ctl -- This is a sample control file. It lists a number of fields which control how and when this letter is displayed.
• preservation.ctl -- A control file for a silly letter.
• preservation.txt -- The silly letter itself.

The process for adding a new letter is to create an appropriate *.txt file in the Letters directory in standard ASCII. Format it as you wish. Remember that the user may change or add text to this message. The second step is to create the corrosponding *.ctl file. Copy the sample, and change the fields as appropriate in your copy. Now check the letter writing page to see that your new letter shows up. Then you're done.

You can pick up a copy of the entire archive for version v0.15. This contains all of the files mentioned on this page.

This application written by Dave Regan. You can see other programs at http://mordred.armoredpenguin.com/.