1. A deprecated term for a device that enables data to flow between different networks (forming an internet).Preferred terms are "protocol converter" (connects networks that use different protocols), "router" (connects two broadcast networks at layer 3 (network layer).Another example is a mail gateway, which is a layer 7 ({application layer}) gateway.2. An interface between an information source and a World-Wide Webserver.Common Gateway Interface is a standard for such interfaces.The information source can be any system that can be accessed by a program running on the web server.A typical example is a {relational database}.(2000-05-24)