The Reach message application (handler) is a light, fast process that communicates with the Web server using the CGI interface.

Tasks involving the message application include:

1. parsing field values from GET and POST queries
2. parsing state information
3. queuing or multithreading a message for the Netbase server
4. checking of Netbase server state
5. sending the generated Web page to user

Task One: Involves parsing of field values from GET and POST queries. These are typically name and value pairs, transmitted as encoded strings.

Task Two: Involves parsing of state information, including information about the Browser making the request, about the request itself, and about the server.

Task Three: Involves queuing a message for the Netbase server to process.

Task Four: Involves continually checking the state of the Netbase server, of the Web server, and of the connections to both.

Task Five: When Netbase has finished processing, the Reach message handler forwards the Web page to the Web server, which then sends it to the Web Browser.

In the case of non-CGI Web Servers, most of these tasks are partially handled by the web server itself; therefore, the Reach message handler is much simpler.