A templating system helps seperate content from code. Look at Template Toolkit and HTML::Template.

After Compline,
Zaxo

UPDATE: rob_au has written an excellent review on CGI::Application to help you get started.

jeffa

L-LL-L--L-LL-L--L-LL-L--
-R--R-RR-R--R-RR-R--R-RR
B--B--B--B--B--B--B--B--
H---H---H---H---H---H---
(the triplet paradiddle with high-hat)

If you grabbed a web page and embedded it in a heredoc, you probably forgot to include a valid HTTP response header. Add   Content-type: text/html at the top of the heredoc, followed by at least one blank line.

That said, you're better off using one of the templating mechanisms, such as HTML::Template.

Build your html page as if it were a static page (ie it works) then slurp it up and spit it out with your templating system of choice.

After you've got that down pat, its not too much of a leap to include your own content, or personalisation, (Welcome <user>)

i doubt that SSI inside of CGI will work. but CGI inside of SSI will. let the server handle the html and insert your CGI for you.

<!-- /my-cgi.html the server SSI will run my CGI -->
<!--#include virtual="/standard/header.html" -->
<hr><h1>Check out my cgi!</h1>
<!--#include virtual="/cgi-bin/my-cgi.pl" --><hr>
<!--#include virtual="/standard/footer.html" -->
[download]

then your CGI can just be something simple.

#!/usr/bin/perl -T
# /cgi-bin/my-cgi.pl
#
$factoid = "No matter where you go, there you are...";
print <<_HTML_;
<p>Factoid of the day: <em>$factoid</em></p>
_HTML_
exit;
[download]

Be careful. This is not an exec cmd. If you exec cgi or (preferrably) include virtual, you have to emit appropriate HTTP headers.

print <<_HTML_;
Content-type: text/html

<p>Factoid of the day: <em>$factoid</em></p>
_HTML_
[download]

Makeshifts last the longest.

If you are keen on diving into some XML you could also try AxKit.

If are not compelled to leave Perl out: just learn some XPath syntax and use XPathScript.

Ciao!
--bronto

(*) of course, you can read easy the way you like: serious or ironic :-)

# Another Perl edition of a song:
# The End, by The Beatles
END {
  $you->take($love) eq $you->make($love) ;
}