Programming the Web with high-level programming languages

Concepts from high-level languages can greatly simplify the design and implementation of CGI programs. This dissertation develops two systems for implementing these programs. The first technique* relies on a custom Web server that dynamically loads CGI programs using the operating system-style services of MrEd, an extension of Scheme. The server implements programming mechanisms using continuations that allow the CGI program to interact with the user in a natural manner. The second technique relies on program transformations from functional language compilation.† It allows the use of standard servers and alleviates most of the memory consumption on the server. In my thesis I discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. I conclude with suggestions for further investigations into this topic. *The first technique previously appeared at the European Symposium on Programming, 2001 A.D., in a paper with the same title as this dissertation, coauthored with Shriram Krishnamurthi, Steve van der Hoeven, and Matthias Felleisen. †The compilation based technique was submitted to the International Conference on Functional Programming in a paper titled, "How to Design and Generate CGI Programs: Applying Functional Compiler Techniques to the Real World," coauthored with Robert Bruce Findler, Shriram Krishnamurthi, and Matthias Felleisen