I ever get that nasty 500 server error. No fatal errors are trapped
What I have done:

(1) The path to Perl is correct:
#!/usr/bin/perl5.003
(2) all files are within the cgi-bin (within the same directory "dbman")
(3) all files are set to chmod 777 (for this test)
(4) $db_dir_url (in default.cfg) is set correctly:
$db_dir_url = "http://ibiza-online.com/cgi-bin/dbman";
(5) $db_script_path in db.cgi: I tried both,
$db_script_path = ".";
and the full path
$db_script_path = "/home/www/ibiza-online/cgi-bin/dbman";

When I try to access the script
http://ibiza-online.com/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi I get the 500 server error.

Who can give me some advice?

Thanks, Wolli (Ibiza/Spain)

My guess is that you have uploaded at least one file (probably db.cgi) in binary mode. You must upload all files in ASCII mode.

You will need to delete the files and upload them again, making absolutely certain that they are uploaded in ASCII mode and you'll need to reset the permissions.


------------------
JPD

I am at a complete loss.

When someone is first uploading the demo, the things to check for are

-The files have been uploaded in ASCII mode

-The path to Perl is correct

-The permissions are set correctly

If all those things are correct, you shouldn't get a 500 error. (You might get other errors, though.)

I checked your default.cfg and db.cgi files for syntax errors and there weren't any.

With any luck someone else will have an idea. I'm really sorry that I can't be of more help, but that's the extent of my expertise.


------------------
JPD

I uploaded all files again and in ASCII mode. Unfortunatley I get the same server error as before.
Do you have another idea what the error could be?

Thanks for your help,

Wolli

I've found the error via Telnet. This is what I get:

CGI ERROR
==========================================
Error Message : This script must be called from the Web using either GET or POST requests

Did I miss something in the Read Me file?

Thanks for any hint

Wolli

I think you've missed the www in the following url:

$db_dir_url = "http://ibiza-online.com/cgi-bin/dbman";

I tried it with 'www' in the url and it's NOT working. Any other idea?

Copy & Paste the files and urls section in here so we can check them.

Ah...The better idea is to save your files as text files, like the following:

htmlpl.txt
dbcgi.txt
defaultcfg.txt

Then upload these files to a publicly accessible directory on your web server. Then post the URL where we can find the files.

Copying large files and pasting them in this UBB forum is not a very good idea, because it will take a long time to download and also it is hard to view.



Regards,

------------------
Eliot Lee
Founder and Editor
Anthro TECH, L.L.C
http://www.anthrotech.com/
info@anthrotech.com
==========================
Coconino Community College
http://www.coco.cc.az.us/
Web Technology
Coordinator
elee@coco.cc.az.us

[This message has been edited by Eliot (edited September 27, 1999).]

Thanks for your support. Here are the dbman files as .txt files:
http://www.ibiza-online.com/dbman

Regards, Wolli

The first thing I would suggest is returning your $db_script_path back to what it was originally:

$db_script_path = ".";

You really should change that only as a last resort.

Have you had any success installing other cgi scripts?

I would also make the permissions as laid out in the README, instead of making everything 777. That could be a problem.

How did you upload the files? Did you use an FTP program?


------------------
JPD

- OK, I have set $db_script_path back to "."
- Then I have set all the permissions like it's described in the ReadMe (and still I get the server error)

- since a few years I am installing cgi scripts successfully, they are running on our website without problems (but it seems that I have a blackout sometimes like in this case)
- I upload the files with FTP always

-----------
Wolli

JPD and all the others, thank you for your time. Tommorrow I will go through all this config things again. I suppose that it is a tiny little stupid error I have made. There is no other possibility than that. I won't give up because this script is absolutely great.
kind regards
Wolli

I was getting the same errors. Drove me NUTS!!! Then I did a little more digging, tried a few more scripts, found the same problem with some of them.

Here's the solution I found:
RE-INSTALL PERL 5!!!! If you don't know how to do it, ask your Hosting Provider. Good luck, and happy DBMan'ing.



------------------
Barry Cohen
Barca Solutions
http://www.barca-solutions.com
bcohen@barca-solutions.com

Yes it drove me NUTS too!!!
After 10 hours of trial and (500) error I installed dbman on another server. It toke me 2 MINUTES, then the script worked without any problems!!!!!
My question: Why? Is it a configuration problem with Perl?

On the first server it does NOT work (500 server error) and the server runs Linux, Apache 1.3.4 and Perl 5.00404

On the second server it DOES work without any error, the server runs with linux also, Apache 1.2.5. and Perl 5.00505

Saludos from Spain
Wolli

It could be a lot of things -- the path to Perl, an incomplete installation of Perl, a corrupted version of Perl. It's definitely a problem with Perl on your first server, though.

It was great that you were able to use another server to try the script on, though. That tells us it's a server problem and not a DBMan problem. I would contact the server admin and let him/her know about the problems you've been having.


------------------
JPD

Only I want to let you know that the problem is solved! It was a problem with the server and the installation of Perl.

I turned back to a life without sleepless nights and horrible "500 error nightmares".

Thank you for your help
Wolli