Windows 2003, CGI, and Perl FAQ

Question:

Does this system have a Perl interpreter installed? If so, what version of Perl is available?

Answer:

Yes. We are running the latest release of ActiveState Perl. This should also be backwards compatible with anything you might have that uses an older version.

Question:

What is the script comment line (shebang) used to make a Perl script execute? (eg, #!/user/bin/perl)

Answer:

In a Windows environment you do not need to specify this line within your code. The web service (IIS) will control how perl scripts are executed based on the extension of the file (.pl, .cgi)

Question:

Are my scripts required to reside in a special directory within my website?

Answer:

No, your scripts are able to run from any directory within your websites folder. If you require special permissions for your cgi or perl scripts to run we recommend you place them all within one folder so we can assign the proper permissions to that one folder. We recommend you name this folder cgi-bin.

Question:

What operating system does the Web server use?

Answer:

Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 with IIS 6.0 (You can log into your ControlPanel for verification)

Question:

Can I use the Server Side Includes (SSI) #exec command on this Web server?

Answer:

#exec directive is always disabled for security reasons.

Question:

Do I need to change anything to activate the Server Side Includes (SSI) feature (e.g., modify a .htaccess file etc.)?

Answer:

No.

Question:

Do my files need a special extension to use SSI (e.g., .shtml)?

Answer:

Yes. Please use .shtml or .shtm for Server Side Includes (SSI).