newbie with form problem

Hi all-

I'm a major newbie and I'm trying to get a simple form to work. I just wanna gather info and record it into a text file. Here's the script:

#!/usr/bin/perl -w

use strict;
use CGI qw(:standard);

$target="http://www.mysite.com/thankyou.html";

print header;
open (ALLUSERS, ">>/c5/jmpservemaillist.txt") || die "cannot open mydatafile: $!\n";open mydatafile: $!\n";
print ALLUSERS scalar (localtime)"^", "$fname^", "$lname^", "$firm^", "$email", "\n";
close (ALLUSERS);

print redirect( -uri=>$target );


And here's the error message I get:

Global symbol "$target" requires explicit package name at /c5/jmpserv/cgi-bin/jmpemail.cgi line 8.
String found where operator expected at /c5/jmpserv/cgi-bin/jmpemail.cgi line 13, near ")"^""
(Missing operator before "^"?)
syntax error at /c5/jmpserv/cgi-bin/jmpemail.cgi line 13, near ")"^""
Global symbol "$fname" requires explicit package name at /c5/jmpserv/cgi-bin/jmpemail.cgi line 13.
Global symbol "$lname" requires explicit package name at /c5/jmpserv/cgi-bin/jmpemail.cgi line 13.
Global symbol "$firm" requires explicit package name at /c5/jmpserv/cgi-bin/jmpemail.cgi line 13.
Global symbol "$email" requires explicit package name at /c5/jmpserv/cgi-bin/jmpemail.cgi line 13.
/c5/jmpserv/cgi-bin/jmpemail.cgi had compilation errors.


I'd appreciate any help.

Since you are doing: use strict;
You must declare variables before you use them. Read some documentation on "use strict;"

An example would be this:

instead of
$target = "http://targeturl.com";

you would do
my $target = "http://targeturl.com";

and for $fname and all of your other variables you must declare them first by simple doing:
my $fname;
my $lname;

That is the whole purpose behind strict is forcing you to declare things before you use them that way it eliminates alot of errors. If you want a good tutorial on strict, go to www.perlmonks.org and search for: use strict

Hope this helps,

DKode

dkode-

Thanks, momma. Like I said, I'm a total newbie. You are the m$#*& f@*&%'in man. Thank you.

Okay, I've got the script to work except for the redirection to a new page. The script does not work with the redirection bit in there. If I take it out it runs fine. Why won't the redirection work?

#!/usr/bin/perl -w

use strict;
use CGI qw(:all);
use diagnostics;

my $fname=param('fname');
my $lname=param('lname');
my $firm=param('firm');
my $email=param('email');
my $target="http://www.mysite.com/thankyou.html"

print header;
open (ALLUSERS, ">>/c5/jmpserv/email.txt") || die "cannot open mydatafile: $!\n";
print ALLUSERS "$fname*", "$lname*", "$firm*", "$email", "\n";
close (ALLUSERS);

print redirect( -uri => $target);

I'm not sure about the redirect with CGI.pm.

Normally when I want to redirect I just do:

print "Location: http://url.to.redirect.to/\n\n";

And that will redirect them to that specific page.

If you go to perldoc.com and search for cgi.pm you'll find what you need.

Hope this helps!

DKode

Thanks again, dkode.

Well, after looking around perlmonks it seems like a lot of people have had problems with redirection/location. I've put in the bit you told me but rather than redirect to the new page, the actual line of code is written. From what I gather this is happening because the header has already been closed. Is this correct? If so, what do I need to do to keep the header open and thus make the redirect work?

Writhe,

The redirect command you're using should not be used along with the header. Try removing the "print header;" bit of code.

Bob

Reference

mullaney-

Wow. I was under the impression I had to print the header to get the data from the form. It is working great now. Thanks.