Download All Scripts

Get the complete Script Archive collection in one convenient download.

All 17 CGI Perl scripts bundled together for learning and reference.

About This Collection

After noticing that many visitors were downloading all scripts individually, this bundle was created to make it easier to get the complete collection at once. Whether you want to learn CGI/Perl programming from examples or use them as references for modern development, this archive contains everything.

17 Scripts

Complete collection of all CGI Perl scripts from the archive.

3 Formats

Available in tar.gz, zip, and tar for any platform.

Learning Resource

Study historical CGI programming techniques and patterns.

Download Options

total.tar.gz
Recommended

Tarred and gzipped archive - the most compressed option.

  • Size: 115 KB
  • Released: December 26, 1996
  • Best for: Unix/Linux/macOS
Historical archive - not available
total.zip
Cross-Platform

ZIP archive compatible with PKunzip and most compression tools.

  • Size: 135 KB
  • Released: December 26, 1996
  • Best for: Windows/Universal
Historical archive - not available
total.tar
Unix Compress

Tarred archive with individual scripts compressed using Unix compress (.Z).

  • Size: 195 KB
  • Released: December 26, 1996
  • Best for: Legacy Unix systems
Historical archive - not available

Included Scripts

The complete package contains the following 17 scripts:

# Script Name Version Release Date Category
1 Guestbook 2.3.1 October 29, 1995 Interactive
2 Free for All Link Page 2.2 July 17, 1996 Interactive
3 WWWBoard 2.0 ALPHA 2 November 25, 1995 Forum
4 FormMail 1.5 February 5, 1996 Forms
5 Random Image Displayer 1.2 July 17, 1995 Display
6 SSI Random Image Displayer 1.2 November 4, 1995 Display
7 Random Link Generator 1.0 July 30, 1995 Utility
8 Animation 1.2 November 21, 1995 Display
9 Countdown 1.2.1 October 8, 1995 Utility
10 Counter 1.1.1 January 11, 1996 Analytics
11 Simple Search 1.0 December 16, 1995 Search
12 WWWCount (Text Version) 1.0 March 14, 1996 Analytics
13 Random Text 1.0 July 13, 1996 Display
14 HTTP Cookie Library 2.1 December 26, 1996 Library
15 TextClock 1.0.2 July 15, 1996 Utility
16 Credit Card Verifier 1.02 July 1, 1996 Forms
17 Book 'em Dan-O 1.01 July 7, 1996 Interactive

Understanding Archive Formats

The tar.gz format combines two utilities: tar (Tape Archive) bundles multiple files into one, and gzip compresses it. This is the standard for Unix/Linux distributions.

# Extract on Unix/Linux/macOS
tar -xzf total.tar.gz

# Or in two steps
gunzip total.tar.gz
tar -xf total.tar

# Create your own tar.gz archive
tar -czf myarchive.tar.gz folder/

ZIP is a universal archive format supported by all operating systems. Originally developed by PKWARE, it's the most widely compatible option.

# Extract on Unix/Linux/macOS
unzip total.zip

# Extract on Windows (PowerShell)
Expand-Archive -Path total.zip -DestinationPath ./scripts

# Create ZIP archive
zip -r myarchive.zip folder/

The Unix compress command was common before gzip became standard. Files have .Z extension and use LZW compression.

# Extract .Z files
uncompress filename.Z

# Or using gzip (can read .Z files)
gunzip filename.Z

# Extract tar archive
tar -xf total.tar

# Modern equivalent using xz
tar -xJf archive.tar.xz

Modern Script Distribution

Today, scripts are distributed through package managers and version control systems:

GitHub/GitLab

Version control hosting with easy cloning, forking, and issue tracking.

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/user/project.git

# Download specific release
curl -LO https://github.com/user/project/archive/v1.0.tar.gz
Package Managers

Language-specific package managers handle dependencies automatically.

# PHP - Composer
composer require vendor/package

# JavaScript - npm
npm install package-name

# Python - pip
pip install package-name

# Perl - CPAN
cpan install Module::Name
Modern PHP Script Bundle Example 
{
    "name": "script-archive/legacy-tools",
    "description": "Modern implementations inspired by classic CGI scripts",
    "type": "library",
    "require": {
        "php": ">=8.0",
        "phpmailer/phpmailer": "^6.0",
        "symfony/http-foundation": "^6.0"
    },
    "autoload": {
        "psr-4": {
            "ScriptArchive\\": "src/"
        }
    }
}

Example composer.json for a modern PHP package inspired by classic scripts.

Extraction Commands

Format Windows macOS Linux
.tar.gz 7-Zip, WinRAR, or tar -xzf file.tar.gz (Git Bash) tar -xzf file.tar.gz tar -xzf file.tar.gz
.zip Built-in or Expand-Archive file.zip unzip file.zip or double-click unzip file.zip
.tar 7-Zip or tar -xf file.tar (Git Bash) tar -xf file.tar tar -xf file.tar
.Z 7-Zip uncompress file.Z or gunzip file.Z uncompress file.Z

Frequently Asked Questions

The original download links from 1996 are no longer active. However, these scripts may be found on archive.org's Wayback Machine. This page serves as a historical reference documenting what was included in the original complete collection.

While Perl is still available on most Unix/Linux servers, running these legacy scripts is not recommended for production use due to security vulnerabilities discovered since their release. They are valuable as learning resources and historical references, but modern applications should use contemporary frameworks with built-in security features.

For modern systems: tar.gz is best for Unix/Linux/macOS with the smallest file size. ZIP is universal and works on all platforms without additional software. The .tar with .Z compression is mainly for legacy Unix systems and compatibility with older tools.

In the 1990s, internet connections were slow (dial-up at 14.4-56 kbps), and downloading multiple files separately was time-consuming. Each HTTP request had significant overhead. Bundling everything into one archive saved bandwidth and connection time, making downloads much more practical.

TAR (Tape Archive) bundles files together without compression - it preserves Unix file permissions and is typically combined with gzip (.tar.gz) or bzip2 (.tar.bz2) for compression. ZIP combines archiving and compression in one format, is cross-platform, but doesn't preserve Unix permissions by default. ZIP also compresses each file individually, while tar.gz compresses the entire bundle.

Modern distribution uses: Package managers (npm, Composer, pip) for dependency management; GitHub/GitLab for version control and releases; CDNs for client-side libraries; and Docker images for complete application stacks. These methods handle versioning, dependencies, and security updates automatically.

"Book 'em Dan-O" was a bookmark management script named after the famous catchphrase from the TV show Hawaii Five-O. It allowed users to save, organize, and share their bookmarks online - essentially an early cloud-based bookmark manager before services like del.icio.us and later browser sync features became common.

These scripts demonstrate fundamental web programming concepts without framework abstractions: HTTP protocol basics, form handling, file I/O, string manipulation, and CGI communication. Understanding these foundations helps developers better understand what modern frameworks do under the hood and makes debugging and optimization easier.

Browse Individual Scripts

Prefer to explore scripts individually? Visit each script's dedicated page:

Guestbook FormMail WWWBoard Simple Search
Random Image SSI Random Image Random Link Animation
Countdown TextClock Credit Card Verifier Code Snippets
Community Extras Mailing Lists Implementation Help All Scripts