CIRR.COM Web Hosting Support CGI Scripting

CGI Scripting for your virtual domain

CIRR supports the use of CGI (common gateway interface) programs only in a Virtual server. With these you can add great features like Guest Books, Form Mailers, Bulletin Boards, etc... to your web pages.

Here is a list of frequently asked questions and answers about CGI at CIRR.

Is there an extra fee for this service?

No, it comes with your virtual server at the Central Iowa (Model) Railroad.

What scripting languages are available?

CIRR provides support for the following CGI scripting languages:

• Perl
• PHP3/4
• Python

The path to perl is /usr/pkg/bin/perl.

The path to php is /usr/pkg/bin/php.

The path to python is /usr/pkg/bin/python.

php is also loaded as a module into the web server.

Does it matter if I use .cgi or .pl scripts?

There are two answers to this question:

1. If your script is going in your /cgi-bin directory, it make no difference what it is named. Just make sure that you call it with the name specified.

2. If your script is going to be in your document space (under /docroot), it must have a .pl or .cgi suffix to be handled as a perl program; or have a .php, php3 or php4 suffix to be handled as a PHP program.

How do I upload my script?

You need an ftp client. For more information, see our Site Upload page.

Does it matter if I upload the script as ASCII or BINARY?

Yes, you must upload any cgi script as ASCII. If you don't upload it in ASCII mode, your script probably will not work.

Which directory should my script go in?

You will upload it to your /cgi-bin directory. It is directly beneath your login directory. You need to change to that directory when you're ftp'ing the file up.

What would the URL of my script be?

http://www.your_domain.com/cgi-bin/script-name

How do I make my cgi script executable?

You must use the SITE extensions to ftp. Read your ftp client's documentation on how to make use of the SITE extensions.

To make a script executable, use the following SITE command in your ftp client:

cd cgi-bin
site chmod 755 filename


Where can I find some pre-written scripts

You can get some great scripts at the following URLs:

• Matt's Script Archive
• The Web Developers Tool Box
• PHP Resource Index

Other Resources:

• Yahoo Listings
• comp.lang.perl.misc
• comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi