Re: cgi-bin

[hcrouch@mchsi.com]

KH> Suexec, Apache, cgi-bin, paranoia, users, permissions ...
KH> I'm always too verbose.

I like verbose.  SILUG-Discuss is one of the venues in which I
encourage verboseness at every opportunity.  
_I_ _even_ _enjoy_ _Mr._ _Smith’s_ _verboseness_ _!_   :-)

KH> I would recommend using PHP or other much more efficient 
KH> means of letting multiple users have scripts in 
KH> their directories unless you really have to.  

This started out as a MySQL project.  Not too far into the tutorial, it became
clear that the best way to make MySQL usable by Joe and Jane Sixpack is to use
web browsers as database clients.  My choice of glue appears to be Perl or PHP.
 Since I’m approaching this from the perspective of a database developer & Unix
sysop rather than a web page developer, and since I am not intimate with Perl,
Python, PHP, Ruby or any other high-level language, Perl seemed to be the best
way to go.  There has already been a tremendous amount of scope-creep; a MySQL
project has transmogrified itself into a LAMP project.  Under the circumstances,
I am resisting the idea of purchasing a PHP book until I’m absolutely forced to
do so.

If/when I get to the point that I’m ready to put the database application on a
real server, then the server owner will be responsible for configuring Apache
(and advising me how to work with his configuration).  In the meantime, all that
I intend to do with my local Apache is to use it to test the scripts that I’m
writing, and I don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time learning the
nuances of that application.  

Having said all that, The Goal is to make database applications that are
accessible to many users.  Let’s keep talking though this issue. If there is
good reason to use PHP rather than Perl, please let me know what it is and I’ll
change direction. 

An Update...

I have installed Debian’s Apache-Perl package.  The Perl-CGI book that I’m
reading walked me through a couple of exercises to assure that all of the
necessary Perl modules are installed and functional.  They are.
I have located httpd.conf, reviewed it, and have a rudimentary understanding of
what it’s doing.  I see where /usr/lib/cgi-bin/ is designated as the default
location for cgi scripts.  For the time being, I accept that I have to put my
scripts in that directory and I move on.

The tutorial instructed me to write a short cgi script.  I did so, set
permissions to 755, ran it through Perl to verify that syntax was correct, then
moved the script into /usr/lib/cgi-bin/.

Now the problem.  The tutorial instructs me to test the script by launching my
web browser and pointing it to
http://www.yourwebhost.com/virtual_scripts_directory/my_script.cgi.  What is
www.yourwebhost.com? Should this be something like
http://localhost/usr/lib/gci-bin/my_script.cgi?

- Harold


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