CGI with Dolphin Question...

I am attempting to write a little CGI application with Dolphin.  I am using
the CGI.cls file that Andy posted some time ago.  I am using POST to submit
the form, and I am trying to get the parameter string out of stdin.  I was
trying to use nextLine to get the string, however I am now wondering if CGI
adds a cr to the string since my code does not seem to respond.  I tried
just using stdin contents but that raises a "bad file descriptor" error when
it checks the size of the stream, and the comment implies that it cannot
work for stdin.  I don't want to liter the remote server with too many stuck
programs, so I was hoping I could get some pointers.

Could someone tell me how to get the string from a POST form submission?

As a future enhancement to Dolphin it might be handy to include a simple
CGISessionManager in the distribution image, it could get and parse the
input.  That would really make it easy to write CGI apps in Dolphin.

Chris

Chris,

> Could someone tell me how to get the string from a POST form submission?

Quite a coincidence: I just started writing a Dolphin CGI yesterday.  See
the not-quite-fileIns (and not very well tested either) below.

Blair, my CGI needs to make a COM connection to the outside, and that's
failing, claiming that the class isn't registered.  BUT,  the class is
registered, and the same expression works (across processes) from the IDE.
My hunch is that this means it's either stripping or session manager
related.  Is there anything about the console session manager that would
cause problems finding a class factory?

Have a good one,

Bill

--
Wilhelm K. Schwab, Ph.D.
[hidden email]


String>>subStringsSeparatedBy:aCharacter

 #wks.
 ^( String with:aCharacter ) _separateSubStringsIn:self



parse:aString
 "Assume the line is separated by $&, and then URL-encoded strings of the
form
 key=value; answer a dictionary."

  | result |

 result := Dictionary new.
 ( aString subStringsSeparatedBy:$& ) do:[ :each | | in |
  in := ( self unescape:each ) readStream.
  result
   at:( in upTo:$= )
   put:( in upToEnd )
 ].

 ^result

unescape:aString
 "Answer the unescaped form of the string"

 "
  self unescape:'userUserName=ok%2C+try+this+as+a+user+name'.
 "

  | in out percent plus space done |

 percent := $%.
 plus := $+.
 space := Character space.
 in := aString readStream.
 out := String writeStream.

 [ in atEnd ] whileFalse:[ | c |
  done := false.
  c := in next.
  c == plus ifTrue:[ out nextPut:space. done := true. ].
  c == percent ifTrue:[ | token codePoint |
   token := in next:2.
   codePoint := Integer fromString:'16r', token.
   out nextPut:( Character codePoint:codePoint ).
   done := true.
  ].
  done ifFalse:[ out nextPut:c ].
 ].

 ^out contents

Bill Schwab <[hidden email]> wrote in message
news:al4kkd$1mvhu0$[hidden email]...
> Chris,
>
> > Could someone tell me how to get the string from a POST form submission?
>
> Quite a coincidence: I just started writing a Dolphin CGI yesterday.  See
> the not-quite-fileIns (and not very well tested either) below.
>
...

Actually my problem was on a more primitive level.  I wanted to know how to
get the string from stdin in order to parse it.  However I figured that out
and it seems to work.  It turns out that my problem was with the mime
headers.

Also FYI it looks like Dolphin 5 has some unescaping code included, look at
String<<unescapePercents.

Thanks,
Chris

"Bill Schwab" <[hidden email]> wrote in message
news:al4kkd$1mvhu0$[hidden email]...
> Chris,
>
> > Could someone tell me how to get the string from a POST form submission?
>
> Quite a coincidence: I just started writing a Dolphin CGI yesterday.  See
> the not-quite-fileIns (and not very well tested either) below.
>

I can save you some testing. String>>subStrings: already works with
character arguments, and there is already a method to unescape post strings:
String>>unescapePercents.

> Blair, my CGI needs to make a COM connection to the outside, and that's
> failing, claiming that the class isn't registered.  BUT,  the class is
> registered, and the same expression works (across processes) from the IDE.
> My hunch is that this means it's either stripping or session manager
> related.  Is there anything about the console session manager that would
> cause problems finding a class factory?
>

I can't think of any particular reason it wouldn't work, but I we haven't
tried to build any console applications that use COM so you are a pioneer.

Regards

Blair

"Blair McGlashan" <[hidden email]> wrote in message
news:al9qgk$1ohc5c$[hidden email]...
> "Bill Schwab" <[hidden email]> wrote in message
> news:al4kkd$1mvhu0$[hidden email]...
> ...
> > Blair, my CGI needs to make a COM connection to the outside, and that's
> > failing, claiming that the class isn't registered.  BUT,  the class is
> > registered, and the same expression works (across processes) from the
IDE.
> > My hunch is that this means it's either stripping or session manager
> > related.  Is there anything about the console session manager that would
> > cause problems finding a class factory?
> >
>
> I can't think of any particular reason it wouldn't work, but I we haven't
> tried to build any console applications that use COM so you are a pioneer.

But you are no longer the lone pioneer. I tried a quick test (see attached),
and it works demonstrating that fundamentally COM should work in a console
app, even for visual controls like the popup help control used in my
example.

Regards

Blair

------------------------
| package |
package := Package name: 'Hello World (Console COM)'.
package paxVersion: 0;
 basicComment: ''.

package imageStripperBytes: (ByteArray fromHexString:
'21535442203120460F0D0004000000496D61676553747269707065720000000000000000520
000001900000048656C6C6F20576F726C642028436F6E736F6C6520434F4D29520000003B000
0004F626A65637420417274735C53616D706C65735C436F6E736F6C655C48656C6C6F20576F7
26C645C48656C6C6F434F4D436F6E736F6C652E6578659A00000000000000520000001900000
048656C6C6F20576F726C642028436F6E736F6C6520434F4D295200000018000000436F6D6D6
16E644C696E65434F4D48656C6C6F576F726C64EFBF250000000000000000000000000000000
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000').

package classNames
 add: #CommandLineCOMHelloWorld;
 yourself.

package binaryGlobalNames: (Set new
 yourself).

package globalAliases: (Set new
 yourself).

package allResourceNames: (Set new
 yourself).

package setPrerequisites: (IdentitySet new
 add: '..\..\..\Dolphin\ActiveX\Automation\ActiveX Automation';
 add: '..\..\..\Dolphin\Base\Dolphin';
 add: '..\..\..\Dolphin\MVP\Base\Dolphin MVP Base';
 yourself).

package!

"Class Definitions"!

ConsoleSessionManager subclass: #CommandLineCOMHelloWorld
 instanceVariableNames: ''
 classVariableNames: ''
 poolDictionaries: ''
 classInstanceVariableNames: ''!

"Global Aliases"!


"Loose Methods"!

"End of package definition"!

"Source Globals"!

"Classes"!

CommandLineCOMHelloWorld guid: (GUID fromString:
'{DE9FBA03-220E-4540-AC39-D788D28B5F5F}')!
CommandLineCOMHelloWorld comment: ''!
!CommandLineCOMHelloWorld categoriesForClass!Samples! !
!CommandLineCOMHelloWorld methodsFor!

main
 | pdisp |
 pdisp := IDispatch createObject: 'Internet.HHCtrl.1'.
 "Fire off a method invocation via #doesNotUnderstand"
 pdisp TextPopup: 'Hello World'
  _: 'Microsoft Sans Serif,8,,italic'  "Font face,point size,char set,format
options"
  _: 2
  _: 2
  _: Color black asParameter
  _: Color white asParameter.
 "Let the message pump run a bit so the popup Window can be painted"
 SessionManager inputState pumpMessages.
 self stderr
  nextPutAll: 'Press <Enter> to exit:'; flush.
 self stdin nextLine! !
!CommandLineCOMHelloWorld categoriesFor: #main!operations-startup!public! !

"Binary Globals"!

"Resources"!

Hi Blair,

> But you are no longer the lone pioneer. I tried a quick test (see
attached),
> and it works demonstrating that fundamentally COM should work in a console
> app, even for visual controls like the popup help control used in my
> example.

Thanks for checking on it.  I'm fairly certain that I have it working too.
The only caveat is that it's still technically possible for the console app
to be talking to itself; class factories are a little too persistent for my
own good at times, and I have so far only managed to get an interface
pointer - I'd really need to move some data and look at the results, or set
a breakpoint in the app, etc..  I know the Dolphin IDE client was crossing
process boundaries though.

More of a problem is that Apache isn't interested in giving my CGI app
access to COM classes; if I can't solve that, there's no point in
continuing.  I _have_ managed to establish an Automation link to Word using
PHP.  But, before I rewrite my COM interfaces to be dispatch vs. vtable and
build a dependence on PHP, it would probably make more sense to figure out
CGIWrap or rig up something similar - I *think* PHP must be doing basically
that itself or it would have the same problems.

There would be long-term benefit in a clean solution, so I'll give it some
more thought and take another run at it if I get any good ideas.  Jerry Bell
posted something about creating a new user for the script directory, but I
haven't found a way to do that with Apache - suggestions are welcome :)
For now it will very likely be easier to write my own web server for testing
purposes, which is how this got started.

Have a good one,

Bill

--
Wilhelm K. Schwab, Ph.D.
[hidden email]

Hi Bill,

> More of a problem is that Apache isn't interested in giving my CGI app
> access to COM classes;

FastCGI will allow you to run a number of separate long-running Dolphin
processes behind Apache. Dolphinharbor is currently setup using Apache +
mod_fastcgi and 5 Dolphin executables.

There are some packages and samples at:

    http://www.dolphinharbor.org/dh/projects/fs/index.html

Another option is mod_lisp. I have not used this myself, but it looks to be
a simpler protocol than FastCGI. The Squeak Seaside code has a mod_lisp
client implementation that could be ported to Dolphin at:

    http://www.beta4.com/seaside/

Hope this helps,
Steve

==========
Steve Waring
[hidden email]
http://www.dolphinharbor.org/dh/harbor/steve.html

Steve,

Thanks for the reminder about FastCGI.  I thought about trying sockets from
a CGI, but have yet to race into it for fear of being stopped by either
console app issues or permissions again.  My other concern was the stability
of winsock, but you would know by now if that were a big problem.  How long
does your server typically run between reboots?  Do you feel hindered by not
having access to Apache 2.x?

<soapbox>
It strikes me that the world would be better served by a brain-dead simple
suexec or other way to tell a server to run only certain CGIs and as a
specific user.  My concern is that with all of the modules, FastCGI and
WinCGI (where it exists), we're really just opening up more opportunities
for hackers when we should be trying to make one securable way to generate
dynamic content.
</soapbox>

Thanks!

Bill

--
Wilhelm K. Schwab, Ph.D.
[hidden email]

Steve,

Problem solved, at least for now.  Your link to Pi3 did the trick -
THANKS!!!  It supports WinCGI, which I already have covered, and it runs
under win2k, which my prior testing server seems unable to do.

Have a good one,

Bill

--
Wilhelm K. Schwab, Ph.D.
[hidden email]

Hi Bill,

> Thanks for the reminder about FastCGI.  I thought about trying sockets from
> a CGI, but have yet to race into it for fear of being stopped by either
> console app issues or permissions again.  My other concern was the stability
> of winsock, but you would know by now if that were a big problem.  How long
> does your server typically run between reboots?  Do you feel hindered by not
> having access to Apache 2.x?
>

In short: stability=rock-solid!

DolphinHarbor runs on an old NT 4 Workstation - 200Mhz Pentium Pro
with 128MB of ram.  Current uptime is over three weeks- the only time
the hardware ever goes down is if we have a prolonged power outage
overnight and my UPS gives out (happens every couple of months - I
have a very large UPS, but the office is in the middle of nowhere and
power quality isn't the greatest.  The 'real' servers get the
notification of power outages).  I've never tracked the longest uptime
for DH, but I'm sure it would be on the order of several months.

Steve runs the Dolphin server software, to my knowledge we haven't had
any crashes there in recent memory- perhaps a few very early on in
DH's lifetime.  I think he only restarts his stuff for configuration
changes- he may want to add more details- he'll also be able to tell
you in more detail what sort of loads his various servers generally
handle- Steve?

Anyway, I don't think you'd have any problems, and as demonstrated by
the meager DH resources, you can run on pretty old hardware.  ToGo
apps rock!

-Jerry Bell