Re: How to convert a script from C to Perl?

Before going to the trouble of rewriting something that already works in another language, I would first try to make sure you absolutely can't execute binaries as CGI programs on your server (very unlikely).

Of course, you can't run the C source directly (as with Perl)... You'd have to compile it first. But looking at the given program, getting it to compile looks like much less trouble than rewriting it...

Comment on Re: How to convert a script from C to Perl?

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Re^2: How to convert a script from C to Perl? by Anonymous Monk on Oct 26, 2010 at 19:01 UTC
Hmm... I don't know the first thing about binaries or compiling sources, but you make it sound like there may be cause for hope. I'll pursue this angle. (original poster)	[reply]
Re^3: How to convert a script from C to Perl? by Anonymous Monk on Oct 26, 2010 at 20:18 UTC
The general procedure would be to put the required files (plant_id.c, util.c, util.h) into some directory, and then run a C compiler: `$ cc plant_id.c -o plant_id plant_id.c: In function ‘num2Pstring’: plant_id.c:839: warning: function returns address of local variable` [download] This should create a binary named `plant_id`, which you'd copy into the `cgi-bin` directory of the webserver, making sure the executable bit of the file is set (`chmod +x plant_id`). This of course assumes you have a C compiler installed, like `gcc` on Linux. Also, the machine you compile the program on should be binary compatible with the target machine (the webserver) - The fewest potential problems would arise if you could compile it on the server itself. The warning "function returns address of local variable" issued by the compiler (see above) refers to the issue Marshall mentioned, which should definitely be fixed...	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^4: How to convert a script from C to Perl? by lyklev (Pilgrim) on Oct 26, 2010 at 21:33 UTC
...and since we were fixing things, replace the statement near the end of plant_id.c `string = num2Pstring( counter + 1 );` [download] with `sprintf(string, "P%d", counter + 1);` [download] and remove the num2Pstring routine.	[reply] [d/l] [select]