in reply to Conversion from Web script to stand-alone

Can i easliy convert my CGI script and modules into a form that can use the windows explorer windows as the interface front end,

I'm assuming you mean Internet Explorer.

then produce output into this without loading up the script in th window,

Huh? What do you mean by "loading up the script" ?

OR, having to create a new interface and script specifically for standalone versions.

You might be able to port the whole thing to a stand-alone application with a built-in web-server. See HTTP::Server::Simple. Looks reasonably straight-forward. If you need other applications (like a database server) you'd have to find easy-to install alternatives for those too (like SQL Lite).

"What should it profit a man, if he should win a flame war, yet lose his cool?"
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Re^2: Conversion from Web script to stand-alone
by biosysadmin (Deacon) on Aug 13, 2005 at 17:36 UTC
    I second the idea of porting the program to a stand-alone application with a built-in web server, as an alternative to HTTP::Server::Simple you could try HTTP::Daemon (it's what I've used when I've done this before).

    The way this will work is that you'll be pointing Internet Explorer (or your other web browser of choice) to your local machine, something like http://localhost:8080 (the number represents the port that the HTTP server is running on, and can be changed).

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Re: Conversion from Web script to stand-alone
by MonkPaul (Friar) on Aug 13, 2005 at 15:53 UTC
    Hi,

    At the moment its stored on a Linux box so can be run through any web browser, but what i meant was the windows explorer interface. The interface that runs Windows. Not internet explorer.

    At present when you use the <form> tag in the html page and just use it to call a .pl or .pm file it just loads that into the window pane.

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[d/l]
      That's because you need a HTTP server to process HTTP requests and spawn CGI scripts.

      Probably the easiest way to get this to work quickly is to use a simple HTTP server like the one I pointed to in my post), especially since you're apparently still using a default browser to look at the HTML pages (IE just embeds in the explorer window if you have it as the default browser) - you could just as well make a perl (or .bat) script that starts the HTTP server and then points IE to the start-page.

      But maybe I'm just misinterpreting what you're saying....

      "What should it profit a man, if he should win a flame war, yet lose his cool?"
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        No not at all, you have the right train of thought going.
        I just was not sure if a module was capable of converting the script to a standalone package.

        I think the locally run server approach would be the best bet for this problem, though it means more fiddling with the host system. Not what i wanted but may have to suffice.

        I will look into the TK::HTML pages also to see what theyhave to offer.

        thanks guys and gals.

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      what i meant was the windows explorer interface. The interface that runs Windows. Not internet explorer.

      The Windows Explorer interface can't do arbitrary things. It's just a file and folder management interface; it does not do much of anything else (okay so it does also display the taskbar...), and specifically it doesn't do any of the things you would normally use CGI for; it does not, for instance display or process the results of form elements. Mostly it copies files and launches application processes. I'm pretty sure what you actually meant was something other than the Windows Explorer interface. I'm not 100% certain what you did mean, but I'm pretty sure that that's not it. There must be a confusion of terminology (which is fairly common when dealing with Microsoft stuff).

      The question is whether you meant Internet Explorer, or the Win32 widget set, or some other thing. But you almost certainly didn't mean Windows Explorer, at least not if you have any real understanding of what Windows Explorer is or does. My best guess is that you meant the Win32 widget set (in which case, the answer is no, converting from CGI to that is not easy, and you should instead consider the other approach, which others have discussed, of using a standalone web-server module and allowing the user to use Internet Explorer as the interface even though the app is running on the local system, not remotely), but that is only a guess, because you have not described in precise detail exactly what you want.

      "In adjectives, with the addition of inflectional endings, a changeable long vowel (Qamets or Tsere) in an open, propretonic syllable will reduce to Vocal Shewa. This type of change occurs when the open, pretonic syllable of the masculine singular adjective becomes propretonic with the addition of inflectional endings."  — Pratico & Van Pelt, BBHG, p68
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      The Windows Explorer, as in what you get when you press WindowsKey-E, is a subset of Internet Explorer since it became built into the operating system. If you pull up the Windows Explorer (WinKey-E) and then type "http://www.perlmonks.org" into the Address bar, it will load in the same window.

      Setting up a CGI to run off a local HTTP server and then creating a shortcut that loads a "http://localhost/whatever" is not paticularly hard and the user experience will be what you want - its the installation of such a setup that is going to be a hassle. You will need to install ActiveState Perl and a local HTTP server on any machine you want to deploy to.

      -Andrew.

      Andrew Tomazos  |  andrew@tomazos.com  |  www.tomazos.com
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        The windows explorer is also the windowmanager in MSWindows. To keep it confusing...
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        In your position, I would probably install at least these:
        • Install PAR This will allow you to package your scripts into a self-contained "executable" (there's a bit more to it than that...).
        • You will have to come up with a way to run a webserver locally, people have suggested for example HTTP::Daemon
        • For BLAST searches locally, you will need to install the NCBI tools for windows: blast-2.2.11-ia32-win32.exe or possibly netblast if you just want to blast against remote databases.
        • Then, to make perl talk to blast, I think this might be handy: Bio::Tools::Run::StandAloneBlast
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Re^2: Conversion from Web script to stand-alone
by CurryBruzzler (Sexton) on Aug 13, 2005 at 15:45 UTC
    Try PerlTK to create your own windowslike gui. but it wouldnt be easy, though.
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