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Problem Solving
Perl and CGI scripts are very unforgiving. The only way you can learn is by making mistakes and correcting them. The information below, however, will hopefully get you off to a good start.

I would suggest installing some existing CGI scripts before you install your own. Matt's Script Archive is a place to go for scripts that have well written instructions.

These may answer most of your questions:

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the closing " (quotes) in a variable name or regular expression
  • Forgetting the ; (semi-colon) at the end of a statement
  • Uploading Using Binary Transfer under Windows-Use ASCII upload when uploading scripts to a Unix server via FTP
  • Forgetting the "/" at the beginning of your root directory in the config portion of a script-Common problem when using a configurable script likes ones found at Matt's Script Archive
  • Forgetting to escape the " quote marks in HTML tags within a script when not using the Here Document format

If you would like to suggest other common mistakes that might not be included in the FAQs or covered here, please let me know by using the feedback form.

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