CGI script "malformed header" error

Midnite has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Oh glorious Monks,

I seek wisdom on a script I am working on. I keep getting a 500 Internal Server Error, and it is a very strange error I get from the error_log:

[Tue Aug 10 13:59:26 2004] [error] [client 216.125.160.51] malformed header from script. Bad header=<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"><font : /usr/local/httpd/virtuals/elghome/www.elginarea.org/cgi-bin/make2.pl

The code it is bombing on is:

print "Content-type: text/html\n";
#print "<TITLE>B.O.B. Question</TITLE>\n";
print "<BODY BGCOLOR=\"#FFFFFF\"><font face=\"Arial\" size=\"3\">\n";
[download]

If I didn't comment out the title, it would have bombed there. I have been working on this for days, and I have no resolution. It does what I want, but I need to print out a web confirmation page based on the data.

Your wisdom would be greatly appreciated. If you need anymore code, just ask.

Joseph A. Ruffino
Automated Systems Assistant
Gail Borden Public Library District
270 N. Grove Ave
Elgin, Il, 60120
847-742-2411 x5986

20040811 Janitored by Corion: Put code tags around error message and code, retitled from "Bad Header"

Comment on CGI script "malformed header" error Select or Download Code

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Re: Bad Header by Aristotle (Chancellor) on Aug 10, 2004 at 19:08 UTC
You need to add a second newline after the headers, as in `print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";` [download] You may want to keep Troubleshooting Perl CGI scripts in mind next time you run into a problem. Makeshifts last the longest.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: Bad Header by Midnite (Acolyte) on Aug 10, 2004 at 19:13 UTC
I am sooo embarrased. I should have known that. Thank You Aristotle Joseph A. Ruffino Automated Systems Assistant Gail Borden Public Library District 270 N. Grove Ave Elgin, Il, 60120 847-742-2411 x5986	[reply]
Re: Bad Header by dragonchild (Archbishop) on Aug 10, 2004 at 19:10 UTC
This is a textbook example of why you should use modules like CGI and/or CGI::Application when developing web applications. It's a lot easier to remember `print $cgi->header;` than to remember what the header actually is. ------ We are the carpenters and bricklayers of the Information Age. Then there are Damian modules.... sigh* ... that's not about being less-lazy -- that's about being on some really good drugs -- you know, there is no spoon.* - flyingmoose I shouldn't have to say this, but any code, unless otherwise stated, is untested	[reply] [d/l]