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CGI Programming

CGI Programming. The Common Gateway Interface (CGI) Generic script ... Client-server interaction ... Accessing Form Input ... Output from the Common Gateway Interface Forms and CGI Server Side Includes Hypermedia Documents Advanced forms and gateways ... Advanced Form Applications

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CGI Programming

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  1. CGI Programming • The Common Gateway Interface (CGI) • Generic script ... • Client-server interaction ... • Accessing Form Input ... • Output from the Common Gateway Interface • Forms and CGI • Server Side Includes • Hypermedia Documents • Advanced forms and gateways ... • Advanced Form Applications • Multiple Form Interaction

  2. The Common Gateway Interface (CGI) • What Is CGI? ... • CGI Applications ... • Some Working CGI Applications ... • Internal Workings of CGI ... • Configuring the Server ... • Programming in CGI ... • CGI Considerations ...

  3. What Is CGI? ... • Communicate with other programs on server • Pass data to program • Process data • Response back to browser • Model ...

  4. Model ... • Browser server application

  5. CGI Applications ... • Interactive • User ask questions, run app's • Forms ... • Gateways ... • Virtual documents ...

  6. Forms ... • Subset of HTML • User supply information • Graphical widgets for form creation • Radio buttons, text fields, checkboxes, selection lists • Submit button send info to server • Execute program associated with form • Back-and-forth interaction

  7. Gateways ... • Programs/scripts • Access info not readable by client • E.g., SQL queries to read database ... • E.g., Archie, WAIS, any other Internet info service • Use forms to query, search • Retrieve & display dynamic, virtual documents

  8. Virtual documents ... • Create on the fly; response to info query • HTML, plain, image, audio • Simple example ... • More sophisticated example: Art gallery ...

  9. Simple example ... • Welcome to IVPR's WWW Server! • You are visiting from cs.uml.edu. The load average on this machine is 1.25. • Happy navigating! • Dynamic information

  10. More sophisticated example: Art gallery ... • Form for user info • Search field for user-searches • E-mail/store form info • Response • Image of requested painting w/info on painting • Form w/ image processing options • Or message: doesn't exist

  11. Some Working CGI Applications (old) ... • Lycos: www.lycos.com • Coloring book: www.ravenna.com/coloring • ArchiePlex gateway: http://pubweb.nexor.co.uk/public/archie/archieplex/archieplex.html • Guestbook with world map: www.cosy.sbg.ac.at/rec/guestbook • Japanese <-> English dictionary: www.wg.omron.co.jp/cgi-bin/j-e?SASE=jfield.html • or http://enterprise/ic.gc.ca/cgi-bin/j-e

  12. Internal Workings of CGI ... • Programs in cgi-bin, w/ certain file extensions (usually) • User open URL ==> client sends request to server, ask for file • Server tries to execute program in file • E.g., ... • Program gets input from STDIN ... • Program sends output on STDOUT ... • Out directly to client or via server ...

  13. E.g., ... • GET /cgi-bin/welcome.pl HTTP/1.0 • Accept: www/source • Accept: text/html • Accept: image/gif • User-Agent: Lynx/2.4 libwww/2.14 • From: haim@cs.uml.edu • All files in cgi-bin recognized as programs • Data formats accepted by client

  14. Program gets input from STDIN ... • + UNIX environment variables • Input search string, format, length, remote host & user, other client info, server name, comm. protocol, server sw

  15. Program sends output on STDOUT ... • Program creates output/gives URL of existing • Send as data stream • HTTP header (at least format - HTML, plain text, gif, ) • Blank line (= end of header) • Body (data in appropriate format - not modified by server)

  16. Out directly to client or via server ... • If complete HTTP header ==> directly to client • OW, to server • Adds complete header info • Sends to client using HTTP protocol • E.g., with complete header ... • E.g., with partial header ...

  17. E.g., with complete header ... HTTP/1.0 OK Date: Tuesday, 9-April-96 11:37:00 GMT Server: NCSA/1.4.2 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/html Content-length: 2000 <HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>Welcome to IVPR's WWW Server!</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY> <H1>Welcome!</H!> . . </BODY> </HTML>

  18. E.g., with partial header ... Content-type: text/html <HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>Welcome to IVPR's WWW Server!</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY> <H1>Welcome!</H!> . . </BODY> </HTML>

  19. Configuring the Server ... • ServerRoot • /usr/local/etc/httpd (in httpd.conf) • ScriptAlias • /cgi-bin/ /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin • E.g., http://domain/cgi-bin/welcome <--> /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/welcome • Can have multiple CGI script directories • Can run programs anywhere (dangerous!) ...

  20. Can run programs anywhere (dangerous!) ... • AddType • application/x-httpd-cgi .pl .sh .cgi • In srm.conf ==> exec files w/ given extensions

  21. Programming in CGI ... • Which programming language? Features ... • AppleScript (Mac only) ... • C/C++ (UNIX, Mac, Windows) ... • C shell (UNIX only) ... • Tcl (UNIX only) ... • Visual Basic (Windows only) ... • Perl (UNIX, Mac, Windows) ...

  22. Which programming language? Features ... • Ease of text manipulation • Interface w/other sw libs and utilities • Access environment variables (in UNIX)

  23. AppleScript (Mac only) ... • Integral part of MacOS 7.5 + • No inherent pattern matching • Extensions • Interface w/ other Mac app's through AppleEvents • E.g., present form to user, decode contents, query & search Microsoft FoxPro database

  24. C/C++ (UNIX, Mac, Windows) ... • No database extensions • No inherent pattern matching • Modules/function • +: Compiled

  25. C shell (UNIX only) ... • No pattern matching • ==> Must use e.g., sed or awk • uncgi sw tool (in C) • Decode form data + store in shell envi. vars. • No direct database access • Bugs & limitations

  26. Tcl (UNIX only) ... • Shell, tcsh • Simple constructs, a little more diff. than Perl • Extensions to database and graphic libs. • Supports regular expressions • Insufficient handling at compile time

  27. Visual Basic (Windows only) ... • Communicate with other Windows programs • No string manipulations

  28. Perl (UNIX, Mac, Windows) ... • Most widely used • Highly portable • Powerful string manipulation op's, functions for binary data • Simple, concise constructs • Easy calling shells, equivalents of UNIX systems functions • Extensions (e.g., oraperl for Oracle) • Perl primer ...

  29. CGI Considerations ... • Data readable by client? • Text/HTML ok • Others: need gateway to translate • How to present? • E.g., Graphics, plots

  30. Generic script ... • 1. Print header w/ Content-type declaration • 2. Print start of HTML doc. • 3. Try to get query string • 4. No string ==> user's 1st access • Create searchable doc. w/ <ISINDEX> or <FORM> • 5. Query string: create doc w/ result of request / ack request processed • 6. Print end of HTML doc, inc. signature • 7. Exit • skeleton.pl

  31. Client-server interaction ... • Input to the Common Gateway Interface

  32. Input to the Common Gateway Interface • Introduction ... • Using Environment Variables ...

  33. Introduction ... • In CGI environment variables • Info about client, server, user • Form data from user • In environment variable / body of request • Add'l pathname info

  34. Using Environment Variables ... • List of CGI Environment variables • Perl: %ENV associative array • Example: About this server ... • Example: Check the client browser ... • Restricting access for specified domains ... • User authentication and identification ... • Where did you come from? ...

  35. Example: About this server ... about_this_server.pl Typical output <HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>About this Server</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY><H1>About this Server</H1> <HR><PRE> Server Name: cs.uml.edu Running on Port: 80 Server Software: NCSA/1.4.2 Server Protocol: HTTP/1.0 CGI Revision: CGI/1.1 <HR></PRE> </BODY></HTML>

  36. Example: Check the client browser ... • check_browser.pl

  37. Restricting access for specified domains ... • Different documents for internal, external users • restrict_domain.pl

  38. User authentication and identification ... • Access restricted • Need user name & password • Unencrypted: DON'T use real • Server passes in REMOTE_USER env. var. • Identify users ...

  39. Identify users ... • $remote_use = $ENV{'REMOTE_USER'}; • if ($remote_user eq "haim") { • print "Who are you?", "\n" • } elseif ($remote_use eq "john") { • print "Hi John." "\n"; • }

  40. Where did you come from? ... • Last URL you were before coming here • HTTP_REFERER env. var. (from client) • referer.pl • Not all browsers set var. • Not set for first server accessed • Meaningless if accessed from bookmark / straight typing of URL • ==> Not entirely accurate

  41. Accessing Form Input ... • Form interaction with CGI ... • Query strings ... • Simple form ... • GET and POST methods ... • Encoded data ... • Extra Path Information ... • Other Languages Under UNIX • Other Languages Under Microsoft Windows • Other Languages on Macintosh Servers • Examining Environment Variables

  42. Form interaction with CGI ... • Browser Server Application

  43. Query strings ... • http://domain/cgi-bin/program?query-string • Call program • Store query-string (after ?) in QUERY_STRING • E.g., name.pl • http://domain/cgi-bin/name.pl?fortune • http://domain/cgi-bin/name.pl?finger • http://domain/cgi-bin/name.pl • Security warning ...

  44. Security warning ... • Caution not to execute system commands • NEVER: print `$query_string`; • E.g., rm -fr / • ==> delete everything

  45. Simple form ... • Form: simple_form.html • Script: unix.pl (GET version) • GET method ==> • All form data in URL ==> • Can also access directly • http://domain/cgi-bin/unix.pl?command=fortune • Same result as with form

  46. GET and POST methods ... POST: server sends data to program as input stream <FORM ACTION="unix.pl" METHOD="POST"> ==> Request POST /cgi-bin/unix.pl HTTP/1.0 . (header) . Content-length: 15 command=fortune unix.pl (POST version, both version)

  47. Encoded data ... • GET ==> form info as part of URL • ==> No spaces, special character • ==> Encoding • HTML form ... • Clients issues request ...

  48. HTML form ... • birthday.html • <HTML> • <HEAD><TITLE>When's your birthday?</TITLE></HEAD> • <BODY> • <H1>When's your birthday?</H1> • <HR> • <FORM ACTION="birthday.pl" METHOD="POST"> • Birthday (in the form of mm/dd/yy): <INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="birthday" SIZE=40> • <P> • <INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Submit Form!"> • <INPUT TYPE="reset" VALUE="Clear Form"> • </FORM> • <HR> • </BODY> • </HTML>

  49. Clients issues request ... Enter: 08/30/53 POST /cgi-bin/birthday.pl HTTP/1.0 . . (information) . Content-length: 21 birthday=08%2F30%2F53 Decode "%2F" to "/” Program: birthday.pl ...

  50. Program: birthday.pl ... #!/usr/local/bin/perl $size_of_form_information = $ENV{'CONTENT_LENGTH'}; read (STDIN, $form_info, $size_of_form_information); $form_info =~ s/%([\dA-Fa-f][\dA-Fa-f])/pack ("C", hex ($1))/eg; ... ($field_name, $birthday) = split (/=/, $form_info); print "Content-type: text/plain", "\n\n"; print "Hey, your birthday is on: $birthday. That's what you told me, right?", "\n"; exit (0);

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