This page will show you how to install perl, apache web server on your computer using Windows XP. Now you can write your own CGI programs and test them locally on your computer using Windows XP. Once Apache is installed and running on your computer, you'll be able to view your pages by pointing your web browser at the http://localhost/ address. You don't even need to be connected to the internet to view local pages and CGI programs.
The very first step toward this is Installing Apache on Windows XP.
For installing apache web server on your computer using Windows XP
First go to Download Apache and download it. Scroll down the page until you find "Apache HTTP Server (httpd) 2.something is the best available version".
Then look for the "Win32 Binary (MSI Installer)". Download the binary .msi file to your computer and launch or run it.
When you run it than following screen come to you, this is the installer start screen.
After pressing Next button, the next screen comes to you, will ask for some information like Network Domain, Server Name and email address. Use the following information:
Server Information - use localhost for both the Network Domain and the Server Name, unless you have a fixed IPaddress and your own domain name. Put your e-mail
address for the Administrator's Email Address.
After filling the information accordingly, the next screen comes to you, will ask for Setup Type of apache web server.
Setup Type - select "Typical"
After selecting the Typical option, the next screen comes to you, will show you the installation directory.
Destination folder - the default is fine, C:\Program Files\Apache Group\
Finish the installation and quit the installer. At this point Apache is probably already running on your machine; go to http://localhost/ in your browser to view your start page.
To start/stop the Apache server, go to the Start menu and navigate to All Programs > Apache HTTP Server > Control Apache Server. There you can start, stop and restart Apache. You can also install the Apache taskbar icon via the "Monitor Apache Servers" option.
So this is how you can install Apache Web server on your computer using Windows XP.
The next step is Installing PERL on Windows XP.
For installing perl on your computer using Windows XP
First go to Download Perl and click on the download link to begin. Download the latest version of Perl available. Download the MSI file and open it.
After pressing next, the custom screen comes to you. On the Custom Setup screen, you can leave the setup as the default. This will install Perl, PPM (the Perl Package Manager) and programming examples to your hard drive in the location C:\Perl.
After pressing next, the new featuers in PPM comes to you. The "new featuers in PPM" screen talks about a PPM profile feature, but that requires ASPN (the full, commercial version) Perl, which you probably aren't installing right now. Leave the "Enabled PPM3 to send profile info to ASPN" unchecked.
After pressing next, screen comes tou you, will ask to choose setup. Under Choose Setup Options, both "Add Perl to the PATH environment variable" and "Create Perl file extension association" should be checked.
So this is how you can install Perl on your computer using Windows XP.
Now Perl is installed. All you need to do now is modify the Apache server configuration.
Configuring Apache
Next you need to modify the Apache configuration file to tell it where your pages are, and enable CGI programs. Go back to the Start menu and navigate to All Programs > Apache HTTP Server > Configure Apache Server > Edit the Apache httpd.conf Configuration file accordingly. The config file will be opened for you in Notepad.
So this is how you can run your CGI programs or create website on your computer using Windows XP.
