Microsoft Windows

Installing Perl/CGI on Microsoft Windows

My Configurations

My system is configured as follows:

Web root = c:/www Apache version = 2.2.6 Apache installation directory = c:/Apache2.2/

Download ActivePerl

Download windows MSI version from http://www.activestate.com/store/activeperl/download

Install ActivePerl

Double click on the downloaded file to install it. By default it installs at c:/Perl.

Test Installation

To test whether the installation was successfull, we need to create and run a hello world file.

Couldn't spawn child process

When using Apache and Perl on Windows, it is common to get Couldn't spawn child process error. The solution is very simple. Verify that you have using the correct directive at the top of your file.

!#/usr/bin/perl

should be changed to

#!c:/Perl/bin/perl.exe

I am assuming that your perl.exe file is located at c:/Perl/bin/perl.exe. If it is at another address, use that address.

Should I choose Apache with or without SSL?

When downloading Apache from apache.org for Microsoft Windows Operating System, you are given two options:

  1. Win32 Binary without crypto (no mod_ssl) (MSI Installer)
  2. Win32 Binary including OpenSSL 0.x (MSI Installer)

OpenSSL is an open-source implementation of SSL and TLS protocols. mod_ssl is a package that provides cryptography for Apache via SSL and TLS. SSL and TLS specify how to securely encrypt and send confidential information over HTTP.

Content search on Windows 7

Windows 7 search interface is different from previous versions of windows and it can be frustrating for new users. The Start > search field is used for all search i.e. programs, files, file contents, and even outlook emails search. By default, search is limited to file names and properties like date and file type. The search does not look inside the files so if you are searching for a file whose name you forgot but remember some lines of text, you will not be able to find it with the default settings.

Getting started with Git

A version control system keeps track of changes in code. It keeps track of every change made by every developer. It allows code bases to be branched and then merged back. You can also go back in time to a point before you introduced something in the code. Version control is absolutely essential for software development.

Neat Microsoft Windows keyboard shortcuts

Microsoft Windows offer many simple keyboard shortcuts. If you use computer as much as I do, you would find that these commands are easy to remember and simplify life a little bit. The symbol + in the table means that you have to press those keys together. win is the windows button just to the right of ctrl with Microsoft Windows logo. The keys are typed in CAPS to increase readability e.g. one and the letter can be confusing is lowercase but not when L is written in uppercase. The commands are NOT case sensitive.

shortcut

How to modify your host file

Your host file enables your system to override the DNS setting for a domain. This change only affects your system.

The syntax of a host file entry is as follows

# this is a comment
192.168.22.22 molecularsciences.org

Basically you specify an IP followed by a domain. All lines beginning with # sign are comments.

Host files should only be edited with plain text editors like notepad, notepad++, sublime, etc. Following are the locations of host files on different systems:

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