debug cgi programs with post forms

[david]

Hi all,

How do i debug cgi programs where the html contains a post form ?
If it contains a get form it is easy because i can run perl -d from
the command line.
In this case i have a very large form with many variables and it is a
post form.
How can i debug it ?
I made a google search and found answers like printing the environment
variables and then run it like a get command with perl -d but this is
a bit tedious.
Is there a "best practice" for this type of problem ?

Thanks in advance,
David

[sopan....@gmail.com]

Try using Data::Dumper module.

--------
use CGI;
use Data::Dumper;

my $query= new CGI();
print $query->header();
print Data::Dumper->Dump([$query]);

----------

This should give you all information into your browser.

-Sopan Shewale
(http://sopanshewale.blogspot.com)

[smallpond]

http://search.cpan.org/dist/CGI.pm/CGI.pm#DEBUGGING

CGI has a -debug mode that should allow you to emulate POST input
from
the command line. I haven't tried it, so I have no idea what it does
about the CONTENT_LENGTH stuff. The alternative would be to set
CONTENT_LENGTH and open a file of your POST data on STDIN.

[xho...@gmail.com]

david <micha...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> How do i debug cgi programs where the html contains a post form ?
> If it contains a get form it is easy because i can run perl -d from
> the command line.
> In this case i have a very large form with many variables and it is a
> post form.

Does it have file upload fields?

> How can i debug it ?

What kind of bugs are you looking for?

> I made a google search and found answers like printing the environment
> variables and then run it like a get command with perl -d but this is
> a bit tedious.
> Is there a "best practice" for this type of problem ?

I find the best practice is not making bugs in the first place. :)

I also often add code to the CGI to process secret debugging parameter,
which turns on strategically placed extra print or warn statements.

warn "Now I'm doing $foo" if $cgi->url_param('debug');

If you really want to debug under -d, then you can run the program using
$cgi->save($file_handle) to save the query and then perl -d script.cgi <
saved_query_file

(this won't work with file upload fields, as the file contents are not
saved.)

Where the script use CGI has been changed to something like:
use CGI qw(-debug);

Xho

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[david]

I am not using file upload fields, so the option of $cgi->save

($file_handle) to save the query and then perl -d script.cgi <

saved_query_file to run the query will be great

Thank you very much

On Nov 20, 6:27 pm, xhos...@gmail.com wrote:

[david]

On Nov 20, 6:27 pm, xhos...@gmail.com wrote:

> david <michaelg...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi all,
>

> > How do idebugcgiprograms where the html contains a post form ?

> > If it contains a get form it is easy because i can run perl -d from
> > the command line.
> > In this case i have a very large form with many variables and it is a
> > post form.
>
> Does it have file upload fields?
>

> > How can idebugit ?

>
> What kind of bugs are you looking for?
>
> > I made a google search and found answers like printing the environment
> > variables and then run it like a get command with perl -d but this is
> > a bit tedious.
> > Is there a "best practice" for this type of problem ?
>
> I find the best practice is not making bugs in the first place. :)
>

> I also often add code to theCGIto process secret debugging parameter,

> which turns on strategically placed extra print or warn statements.
>
> warn "Now I'm doing $foo" if $cgi->url_param('debug');
>

> If you really want todebugunder -d, then you can run the program using

> $cgi->save($file_handle) to save the query and then perl -d script.cgi<
> saved_query_file
>
> (this won't work with file upload fields, as the file contents are not
> saved.)
>

> Where the script useCGIhas been changed to something like:

> useCGIqw(-debug);
>
> Xho
>
> --
> --------------------http://NewsReader.Com/--------------------
> The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the
> payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked
> advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate
> this fact.

I have now another problem. The $cgi->save($file_handle) does not save
cookie data. How it is possible to work with it when using also cookie
data ?