Reading html/txt in cgi-bin

[salewit]

Simple question. I have a Perl script that creates a log.txt file. I want to create a link to that log file (i.e.: <a href="cgi-bin/log.txt">Click to view log</a> ), but when I do that, I get an "Internal Server Error". Same with trying to access an .html file within cgi-bin.

I played around with permissions, but nothing I do seems to make any difference. Can it be done?

Thanks
Sam

[jason]

The way the cgi-bin is set up, the server will try to execute anything that you put in it, regardless file extension. When you try to access the log file, the server is trying to execute it, but since the file isn't a program, its not having any luck, thus the error.

There are two things you can do:
1) change the script so that the log file gets written to a place that isn't in cgi-bin.

2) Change the location of the script. If the script ends in .pl or .cgi it can be run as a cgi from any directory. The log file will be accessible from any directory except cgi-bin.

--Jason

[salewit]

Thanks for the quick response. I was under the impression that Perl scripts (cgi, pl) would only run under the cgi-bin folder.

Sam