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Our UNIX web servers have the capability to run CGI
scripts in
your very own "cgi-local" directory. Scripts may
be written
in Perl, Unix SH, KSH, CSH, and C (NOT C++)
languages. Perl is our
language of choice as it is a world standard and is well
suited
to CGI. In addition, Perl code does not require manual
compilations
whereas C code must be
compiled on our web
servers prior to use.
NT hosting customers have a "cgi-bin"
directory for PERL scripts.
Here are some helpful tips to follow when installing
scripts;
UNIX Shell Scripts
- Upload to your cgi-local directory to ensure proper file
permission
settings
- Upload in ASCII transfer mode (and NOT BINARY
mode)
- The first line of each script must read: #!/bin/sh ,
#!/bin/csh
or #!/bin/ksh based on whichever shell scripts you
prefer using.
- Reference the script using /cgi-local (and NOT
/cgi-bin)
- Always remember to include echo
"Content-type: text/htmln\n"
Perl Scripts
- Upload to your cgi-local directory to ensure proper file
permission
settings
- Upload in ASCII transfer mode (and NOT BINARY
mode)
- The first line of each script must read:
#!/usr/local/bin/perl
- Use the Perl script checker in your Control Panel to
check syntax.
- Reference the script using /cgi-local (and NOT
/cgi-bin)
- Always remember to include print
"Content-type: text/htmln\n";
or alternatively using the Perl module CGI.pm (If you do
not, your scripts will not run and you will get an Internal
Server Error message).
use CGI qw(:cgi-lib :standard);
print header();
If a script calls another file within your account, but the
script does NOT require a URL, you need to use the
system path. Instead
of using the absolute path to your home directory
("/www26/web/someid"),
you should instead use the DOCUMENT_ROOT
environment variable
($ENV{DOCUMENT_ROOT}
in Perl) to determine the path of your files or programs
within a script.
e.g.
From:
/www23/web/yourid/data/fact.html
To:
$ENV{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/data/fact.html
The UNIX system path to the sendmail program on
your server is
/usr/lib/sendmail
The UNIX system path to the date command is
/sbin/date
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