FastCGI is an interface that makes programs run on servers run faster. It's intended as an improvement to the older Common Gateway Interface (CGI.) CGI was and is used by servers to call external programs. The problem was that every CGI request created a single process on the machine. This meant that sharing things like memory and database connections (which are hard to create and therefore slower to start new) wasn't possible.
The new FastCGI interface allows a single process to deal with multiple requests to the server. This means that any given process might go on for a very long time, and handle multiple requests. This longevity allows FastCGI to reuse memory allotments, database connections, and other "expensive" tools without always having to create a new one.
FastCGI
Bravenet seems to support PHP 5.2 in fastcgi mode on Premium Plans. I've included the link to their plans page as a reference.
Oracle is a database server and is independent from the web server. This means that any server capable of running natively or through CGI/FastCGI php can also use Oracle.
Yes, Lighttpd is a web server designed to serve static and dynamic content efficiently. It is known for its low memory footprint and high performance, making it suitable for handling large numbers of concurrent connections. Lighttpd supports various features such as FastCGI, CGI, and URL rewriting, making it a versatile choice for web hosting.
You may want to check with your local home and garden store. Home Depot and Lowes offer free seasonal classes covering a variety of topics including landscaping. If you are looking for more formal structure, you may also consider taking an online class. http://search.universalclass.com/fastcgi/search.htm?SearchString=landscape
CGI is a standard protocol for interfacing external application software with a Web server [1]. It has been widely used for implementing dynamic generated pages on the Web. There are advantages and disadvantages to CGI programs. One advantage of CGI programs is that they are language independent [2]. CGI programs can be written in any language that allows one to write normal programs since they are executed in the same way as the normal programs. Another advantage of CGI is that it's a very simple interface [3]. It's not necessary to have any special library to create a CGI program, or write programs using a particular API. Instead, CGI programs rely on the standard concepts of standard input, standard output, and environment variables to communicate with the Web server. There are also disadvantages to CGI programs. One disadvantage is that CGI programs are slow since they need to fork a new process for every HTTP request and the database connection must be reopened for the next instance of the program, which is quite costly [4]. One solution is to use FastCGI instead of CGI. FastCGI implements a technique using which forking one process for every request is not necessary, therefore can improve the performance.