Date:    Fri, 28 Mar 1997 10:12:24 -0800
From:    Jan de Leeuw 
Subject: Web sites: Our HTTPD can do statistics !

I have modified our Apache WWW server in such a way that it now
understand and executes some basic statistics. In particular,
it can do cdf's and inverse cdf's for the cdflib distributions
(normal, chi2, gamma, beta, t, f, binomial, poisson, negative binomial,
noncentral chi2, noncentral f), and it can generate random
numbers from these distributions as well. It can also compute
raw moments, and even make scatterplots. This does not, I repeat
not, involve CGI or external programs, and it does not require
anything on the client side. It is all in the server. I use
PHP/FI as the server-side scripting language (see 
http://php.vex.net

The PHP/FI extensions are in ftp.stat.ucla.edu in
/pub/faculty/deleeuw/php/statistics -- or on 

http://www.stat.ucla.edu
in ~deleeuw/development/php/statistics. You have to make your
own PHP/FI module, and make your own new Apache HTTPD.

Examples of the approach are in

http://www.stat.ucla.edu/calculators/cdf/normalcalc.phtml
http://www.stat.ucla.edu/calculators/cdf/normalplot.phtml

If this proves to be a viable approach, I'll extend it by adding
more statistics. If you extend your server in this way, and
you learn PHP/FI syntax (which is really simple), you can
do server-side statistics scripting yourself.

--
Jan de Leeuw; Professor and Director, Interdivisional Program in Statistics;
US mail: 8142 Math Sciences Bldg, Box 951554, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1554
phone (310)-825-9550;  fax (310)-206-5658;  email: deleeuw@stat.ucla.edu
                 http://www.stat.ucla.edu/~deleeuw