Domain Name Availability CGI (iWhois)
Offering clients a way to check domain name availability is an essential
part of a web hosting company's web site. However, checking the
availability of only the common top level domain names (.com, .net, and
.org) is not adequate. A utility to check the availability for any
top level domain name is necessary. This ability can be easily provided
with a small form and CGI script. The lookup form and CGI source are
presented in two sections below.
Domain Name Availability Lookup Form
The HTML below can be customized for your Virtual Server by adding
graphics, changing text, and adding other personal touches.
<html>
<head>
<title>Domain Name Availability</title>
</head>
<body>
<hr size = 3>
<h3>Domain Name Availability</h3>
Please use the following form to check the availability of a domain name.
The domain name can end in any of the international top level domains,
not just those serviced by the InterNIC. Simply enter the domain name
(i.e. internic.net, nominet.org.uk, nic.ch, etc) into the entry field
below and select the "Lookup" button.
<p>
<center>
<form method=POST action="/cgi-bin/library/iwhois/lookup.pl">
<input name="name" size=24 maxlength=72>
<input type="submit" value="Lookup">
</form>
</center>
<p>
<hr size = 3>
</body>
</html>
If you are unfamiliar with the <form> HTML element, or would like to
learn more about forms, see:
Mosaic for X version 2.0 Fill-Out Form Support.
Installing the Domain Name Availability CGI
To install the lookup CGI on your Virtual Server you will need to
do the following:
- Download the Lookup Form
You will need to Download the Lookup Form HTML Source
and store it somewhere in your
usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs directory structure. Feel free to customize
the form, add graphics, etc. But be sure that the variable name
for the input field is not altered.
- Install the Domain Name Availability CGI source code
Connect to your Virtual Server via
Telnet or SSH and do the
following:
% cd
% tar xvf /usr/local/contrib/iwhois.tar
|
NOTE: It is no longer necessary to request that the iWhois executable
be installed for you. It is included in the distribution (tar file) and is
installed in your ~/usr/bin directory automatically.
|
- Customize the Appearance of the CGI
Two subroutines in the util.pl
file are used to print out header and footer information. These
functions are print_header_info and
print_footer_info. Feel free to modify these functions
such that the CGI outputs pages that are in synch with the motifs
of the rest of your site.
Once you have completed the installation successfully, you will have a
working query form like the one shown below (go ahead and test it).
