Long before EventSource and Server-Sent Events, developers in 1995–1998 tried to keep web pages “live” using CGI, forms, frames, and early browser scripting—laying conceptual groundwork for streaming web APIs.
In 1995–1998, the web didn’t have Web Workers—but it definitely had the problem they solve. This chapter traces how early JavaScript, CGI, and form-driven interactivity revealed the need for background processing in browsers.
From JavaScript’s first steps to CGI-driven forms and early cookie standards, 1995–1998 taught browsers and servers how to coordinate state—an essential precursor to modern browser storage APIs and richer client applications.
Between 1995 and 1998, browser scripting evolved from simple form validation into a recognizable (if messy) web API surface: window/document objects, event handlers, cookies, and the early DOM—bridging static pages with CGI-powered back ends.
From CGI scripts to browser scripting, HTML forms in the mid-to-late 1990s quietly established a repeatable client-to-server contract—an early pattern that looks surprisingly like today’s web APIs.