You could write a second CGI script that accepts a argument for the gif to display (say , display.cgi). The first script then simply creates HTML, and any reference to a dynamic image will look like:

<img src="/path/to/display.cgi?name=foo" alt="foo" />
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But if you have a lot of these ... that's a lot of CGI hits on the server. I would consider 'bulk generating' the images via a cron job if server performance becomes an issue (unless they are very 'on the fly' of course).

Also, consider using CGI.pm's header method to simplify printing content headers:

usg CGI qw(header);

print header;
print header('image/gif');
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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)