Creating and Using CGI Applications

This document was written by CS 290W TA David Corcoran and was last modified

1. You should create a cgi-bin directory in your www directory. Do this within your www directory by typing mkdir cgi-bin. Then make this directory world-readable and executable via chmod a+rx cgi-bin. You really do not have to have your cgi applications in a separate directory named cgi-bin. They can be in your www folder. But, we strongly suggest that you put them in a separate folder just as you do your images and Java classes.

2. Copy the test CGI script test.pl into your cgi-bin directory. Do this by going to your cgi-bin directory and typing the command cp /home/champion/v/bxd/test.pl test.cgi. Notice that you have gotten a Perl program (.pl) and renamed it test.cgi. Many Web servers require applications to have the .cgi suffix. Make test.cgi world-readable and executable via chmod a+rx test.cgi.

3. Copy the CGI parser cgi-lib.pl into your cgi-bin directory. This file will make it easier for you to write CGI programs in Perl that handle information sent by Web browsers. Do this by going to your cgi-bin directory and typing the command cp /home/champion/v/bxd/cgi-lib.pl cgi-lib.pl. Make cgi-lib.pl world-readable and executable via chmod a+rx cgi-lib.pl.

4. Copy the test HTML file perltestcgi.html into your www directory. Do this by going to your www directory and typing the command cp /home/champion/v/bxd/perltestcgi.html perltestcgi.html. Make perltestcgi.html world-readable via chmod a+r perltestcgi.html.

5. Test the CGI script by pulling up the perltestcgi.html in your web browser, entering your name, and verifying your name comes back on the following page.