Microsoft KB Archive/274772

= INFO: Perl Support Boundaries =

PSS ID Number: 274772

Article Last Modified on 9/19/2001

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Internet Information Server 1.0
 * Microsoft Internet Information Server 2.0
 * Microsoft Internet Information Server 3.0
 * Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0
 * Microsoft Internet Information Server 5.0

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This article was previously published under Q274772



SUMMARY
Customers frequently call Microsoft support for Perl issues, particularly when they are running Perl scripts on Internet Information Server (IIS). The only product that Microsoft ships that has any sort of Perl capabilities is the Microsoft Windows NT Resource Kit, and the Perl lanugage is not supported. Therefore Microsoft's ability to help customers with Perl issues is limited. This article defines Microsoft support boundaries for Perl issues.



MORE INFORMATION
Because Microsoft does not support the Perl language itself, Microsoft offers no help with writing Perl, fixing bugs in Perl script, or setting up or configuring Perl. However, Microsoft does support the environments in which Perl runs. For example, the resource kit implementation of Perl runs Perl script as a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) application. Because Microsoft supports the CGI interface, which includes setting environment variables for the CGI process and communicating with the CGI through standard input (STDIN) and standard output (STDOUT), Microsoft Product Support can work with customers whose Perl script is not working because the CGI environment variables do not appear properly or who are having problems with input and output (I/O). If a customer needs Perl support, a full-featured implementation of Perl is available from and supported by ActiveState. For more information, see the following Web site:

http://www.activestate.com

Sample Scenarios
The following are some of the problems that customers may encounter with Perl scripts:
 * None of the customer's Perl scripts work.

This is an installation or configuration question, and Microsoft can only provide limited support.


 * The customer has a problem with how to call a Perl function within the script.

This is a Perl language or syntax problem, and is not supported by Microsoft.


 * The customer's Perl script does not work when it is run as a CGI program.

If no Perl scripts work, the problem is a setup or configuration issue, and Microsoft can only provide limited support. If only one particular Perl script is failing, a problem may exist with the IIS CGI environment. Microsoft Product Support help to determine whether the problem exists in the CGI environment or in the Perl code. However, this may take some research with the customer. The customer must understand the Perl script code and be able to perform normal debug actions, such as determining where the code is failing.

