PERL TUTORIALS - Perl CGI Programming

Perl CGI Programming

Understanding HTTP Header

Header	Description
Content-type: String	A MIME string defining the format of the content being returned. Example is Content-type:text/html
Expires: Date String	The date when the information becomes invalid. This should be used by the browser to decide when a page needs to be refreshed. A valid date string should be in the format 01 Jan 1998 12:00:00 GMT.
Location: URL String	The URL that should be returned instead of the URL requested. You can use this filed to redirect a request to any other location.
Last-modified: String	The date of last modification of the file.
Content-length: String	The length, in bytes, of the data being returned. The browser uses this value to report the estimated download time for a file.
Set-Cookie: String	Set the cookie passed through the string

CGI Environment Variables

Variable Names	Description
CONTENT_TYPE	The data type of the content. Used when the client is sending attached content to the server. For example file upload etc.
CONTENT_LENGTH	The length of the query information. It's available only for POST requests
HTTP_COOKIE	Return the set cookies in the form of key & value pair.
HTTP_USER_AGENT	The User-Agent request-header field contains information about the user agent originating the request. Its name of the web browser.
PATH_INFO	The path for the CGI script.
QUERY_STRING	The URL-encoded information that is sent with GET method request.
REMOTE_ADDR	The IP address of the remote host making the request. This can be useful for logging or for authentication purpose.
REMOTE_HOST	The fully qualified name of the host making the request. If this information is not available then REMOTE_ADDR can be used to get IR address.
REQUEST_METHOD	The method used to make the request. The most common methods are GET and POST.
SCRIPT_FILENAME	The full path to the CGI script.
SCRIPT_NAME	The name of the CGI script.
SERVER_NAME	The server's hostname or IP Address
SERVER_SOFTWARE	The name and version of the software the server is running.

First CGI Program

#!/usr/bin/perl

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n\r\n";
print '<html>';
print '<head>';
print '<title>Hello Word - First CGI Program</title>';
print '</head>';
print '<body>';
print '<h2>Hello Word! This is my first CGI program</h2>';
print '</body>';
print '</html>';

1;

						Understanding HTTP Header

Content-type:text/html\r\n\r\n

						CGI Environment Variables

#!/usr/bin/perl

print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";
print "<font size=+1>Environment</font>\n";
foreach (sort keys %ENV)
{
  print "<b>$_</b>: $ENV{$_}<br>\n";
}

1;

						Raise a "File Download" Dialog Box ?

#!/usr/bin/perl

# HTTP Header
print "Content-Type:application/octet-stream; name=\"FileName\"\r\n";
print "Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=\"FileName\"\r\n\n";

# Actual File Content will go hear.
open( FILE, "<FileName" );
while(read(FILE, $buffer, 100) )
{
   print("$buffer");
}

						Simple URL Example :  Get Method  

#!/usr/bin/perl

local ($buffer, @pairs, $pair, $name, $value, %FORM);
# Read in text
$ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/;
if ($ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} eq "GET")
{
   $buffer = $ENV{'QUERY_STRING'};
}
# Split information into name/value pairs
@pairs = split(/&/, $buffer);
foreach $pair (@pairs)
{
   ($name, $value) = split(/=/, $pair);
   $value =~ tr/+/ /;
   $value =~ s/%(..)/pack("C", hex($1))/eg;
   $FORM{$name} = $value;
}
$first_name = $FORM{first_name};
$last_name  = $FORM{last_name};

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n\r\n";
print "<html>";
print "<head>";
print "<title>Hello - Second CGI Program</title>";
print "</head>";
print "<body>";
print "<h2>Hello $first_name $last_name - Second CGI Program</h2>";
print "</body>";
print "</html>";

1;

						Simple FORM Example: GET Method

<FORM action="/cgi-bin/hello_get.cgi" method="GET">
First Name: <input type="text" name="first_name">  <br>

Last Name: <input type="text" name="last_name">
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</FORM>

						Passing Information using POST method:

#!/usr/bin/perl

local ($buffer, @pairs, $pair, $name, $value, %FORM);
# Read in text
$ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/;
if ($ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} eq "POST")
{
   read(STDIN, $buffer, $ENV{'CONTENT_LENGTH'});
}else {
   $buffer = $ENV{'QUERY_STRING'};
}
# Split information into name/value pairs
@pairs = split(/&/, $buffer);
foreach $pair (@pairs)
{
   ($name, $value) = split(/=/, $pair);
   $value =~ tr/+/ /;
   $value =~ s/%(..)/pack("C", hex($1))/eg;
   $FORM{$name} = $value;
}
$first_name = $FORM{first_name};
$last_name  = $FORM{last_name};

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n\r\n";
print "<html>";
print "<head>";
print "<title>Hello - Second CGI Program</title>";
print "</head>";
print "<body>";
print "<h2>Hello $first_name $last_name - Second CGI Program</h2>";
print "</body>";
print "</html>";

1;

						
<FORM action="/cgi-bin/hello_post.cgi" method="POST">
First Name: <input type="text" name="first_name">  <br>

Last Name: <input type="text" name="last_name">

<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</FORM>

						Passing Checkbox Data to CGI Program

<form action="/cgi-bin/checkbox.cgi" method="POST" target="_blank">
<input type="checkbox" name="maths" value="on"> Maths
<input type="checkbox" name="physics" value="on"> Physics
<input type="submit" value="Select Subject">
</form>

						
#!/usr/bin/perl

local ($buffer, @pairs, $pair, $name, $value, %FORM);
# Read in text
$ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/;
if ($ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} eq "POST")
{
   read(STDIN, $buffer, $ENV{'CONTENT_LENGTH'});
}else {
   $buffer = $ENV{'QUERY_STRING'};
}
# Split information into name/value pairs
@pairs = split(/&/, $buffer);
foreach $pair (@pairs)
{
   ($name, $value) = split(/=/, $pair);
   $value =~ tr/+/ /;
   $value =~ s/%(..)/pack("C", hex($1))/eg;
   $FORM{$name} = $value;
}
if( $FORM{maths} ){
   $maths_flag ="ON";
}else{
   $maths_flag ="OFF";
}
if( $FORM{physics} ){
   $physics_flag ="ON";
}else{
   $physics_flag ="OFF";
}

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n\r\n";
print "<html>";
print "<head>";
print "<title>Checkbox - Third CGI Program</title>";
print "</head>";
print "<body>";
print "<h2> CheckBox Maths is : $maths_flag</h2>";
print "<h2> CheckBox Physics is : $physics_flag</h2>";
print "</body>";
print "</html>";

1;

						Passing Radio Button Data to CGI Program

<form action="/cgi-bin/radiobutton.cgi" method="POST" target="_blank">
<input type="radio" name="subject" value="maths"> Maths
<input type="radio" name="subject" value="physics"> Physics
<input type="submit" value="Select Subject">
</form>

						
#!/usr/bin/perl

local ($buffer, @pairs, $pair, $name, $value, %FORM);
# Read in text
$ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/;
if ($ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} eq "POST")
{
   read(STDIN, $buffer, $ENV{'CONTENT_LENGTH'});
}else {
   $buffer = $ENV{'QUERY_STRING'};
}
# Split information into name/value pairs
@pairs = split(/&/, $buffer);
foreach $pair (@pairs)
{
   ($name, $value) = split(/=/, $pair);
   $value =~ tr/+/ /;
   $value =~ s/%(..)/pack("C", hex($1))/eg;
   $FORM{$name} = $value;
}
$subject = $FORM{subject};

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n\r\n";
print "<html>";
print "<head>";
print "<title>Radio - Fourth CGI Program</title>";
print "</head>";
print "<body>";
print "<h2> Selected Subject is $subject</h2>";
print "</body>";
print "</html>";

1;

						Passing Text Area Data to CGI Program

<form action="/cgi-bin/textarea.cgi" method="POST" target="_blank">
<textarea name="textcontent" cols=40 rows=4>
Type your text here...
</textarea>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

						
#!/usr/bin/perl

local ($buffer, @pairs, $pair, $name, $value, %FORM);
# Read in text
$ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/;
if ($ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} eq "POST")
{
   read(STDIN, $buffer, $ENV{'CONTENT_LENGTH'});
}else {
   $buffer = $ENV{'QUERY_STRING'};
}
# Split information into name/value pairs
@pairs = split(/&/, $buffer);
foreach $pair (@pairs)
{
   ($name, $value) = split(/=/, $pair);
   $value =~ tr/+/ /;
   $value =~ s/%(..)/pack("C", hex($1))/eg;
   $FORM{$name} = $value;
}
$text_content = $FORM{textcontent};

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n\r\n";
print "<html>";
print "<head>";
print "<title>Text Area - Fifth CGI Program</title>";
print "</head>";
print "<body>";
print "<h2> Entered Text Content is $text_content</h2>";
print "</body>";
print "</html>";

1;

						Passing Drop Down Box Data to CGI Program

<form action="/cgi-bin/dropdown.cgi" method="POST" target="_blank">
<select name="dropdown">
<option value="Maths" selected>Maths</option>
<option value="Physics">Physics</option>
</select>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>

						
#!/usr/bin/perl

local ($buffer, @pairs, $pair, $name, $value, %FORM);
# Read in text
$ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/;
if ($ENV{'REQUEST_METHOD'} eq "POST")
{
   read(STDIN, $buffer, $ENV{'CONTENT_LENGTH'});
}else {
   $buffer = $ENV{'QUERY_STRING'};
}
# Split information into name/value pairs
@pairs = split(/&/, $buffer);
foreach $pair (@pairs)
{
   ($name, $value) = split(/=/, $pair);
   $value =~ tr/+/ /;
   $value =~ s/%(..)/pack("C", hex($1))/eg;
   $FORM{$name} = $value;
}
$subject = $FORM{dropdown};

print "Content-type:text/html\r\n\r\n";
print "<html>";
print "<head>";
print "<title>Dropdown Box - Sixth CGI Program</title>";
print "</head>";
print "<body>";
print "<h2> Selected Subject is $subject</h2>";
print "</body>";
print "</html>";

1;

						Setting up Cookies

#!/usr/bin/perl

print "Set-Cookie:UserID=XYZ;\n";
print "Set-Cookie:Password=XYZ123;\n";
print "Set-Cookie:Expires=Tuesday, 31-Dec-2007 23:12:40 GMT";\n";
print "Set-Cookie:Domain=www.;\n";
print "Set-Cookie:Path=/perl;\n";
print "Content-type:text/html\r\n\r\n";
...........Rest of the HTML Content goes here....

						Retrieving Cookies

key1=value1;key2=value2;key3=value3....

						
#!/usr/bin/perl
$rcvd_cookies = $ENV{'HTTP_COOKIE'};
@cookies = split /;/, $rcvd_cookies;
foreach $cookie ( @cookies ){
   ($key, $val) = split(/=/, $cookie); # splits on the first =.
   $key =~ s/^\s+//;
   $val =~ s/^\s+//;
   $key =~ s/\s+$//;
   $val =~ s/\s+$//;
   if( $key eq "UserID" ){
      $user_id = $val;
   }elsif($key eq "Password"){
      $password = $val;
   }
}
print "User ID  = $user_id\n";
print "Password = $password\n";