Introduction to the World-Wide Web

Appendix B: Deploying Internet Programs Created on NetExpress

If you want to compile and run on a UNIX system an Internet program that was created on NetExpress, there are certain steps that have to be taken. On NetExpress Version 2 and later, these steps are taken for you by the UNIX Option. The UNIX Option enables you to automatically rebuild a CGI program, created using NetExpress, on a UNIX system. Instructions on how to use the UNIX option are provided in NetExpress Version 2 and later in the UNIX Option User Guide. NetExpress Version 2 and later also provide additional information on creating and deploying Internet and intranet applications using the UNIX Option in the NetExpress Internet Applications book.

For NetExpress Version 1, you need to manually transfer a NetExpress created program to a UNIX system, and then rebuild the program on that system. The help documentation for NetExpress Version 1 contains instructions on how to transfer and rebuild programs. However, with Server Express, the instructions for manually transferring and rebuilding programs has changed slightly. If you want to transfer and rebuild programs using Server Express, ignore the instructions documented in NetExpress Version 1, and use the instructions documented here instead.

B.1 Manually Deploying NetExpress Created CGI programs to UNIX systems

Server Express and NetExpress Version 3 both use the same technology for compiling web applications. Therefore deploying a web application created using NetExpress to Server Express is relatively simple.

When you have copied the source files, HTML files, and any data files from NetExpress to Server Express, you compile and link the application as already described in the chapter Building Internet Programs. The same chapter describes how you use the cobrun triggers to execute a Internet application.

We recommend that you use the cobrun triggers for development, as it simplifies the development and debug cycle. However you might wish to execute the application via a script.

B.2 Executing Internet Programs Using a Script

When a form calls the Internet program on a UNIX system, the environment must be set up so that the Internet program will run correctly.

You should follow these rules to set the environment:

• COBPATH should point to the location of your application code, or the code must be placed in the cgi-bin directory.
  
  
• Application output HTML forms must be placed in the cgi-bin directory. Alternatively you can place them in any directory you require, and then set the COBDATA environment variable to point to the directory containing the forms.

  Note: COBDATA affects how the run-time system locates all data files used by your application.

For example, the script shown below is typical of the script that needs to be executed. It sets up the COBOL environment and runs a program called cgiapp.

# Setup COBDIR and COBPATH to locate the COBOL product 
# to run the program 

# set the location of the COBOL system 
COBDIR=/usr/test/cobol 

# Set the COBOL program search path 
COBPATH=:/usr/test/COBOL/progs 

# Place these variables in your environment 
export COBPATH COBDIR COBDATA 

# Run cgiapp becomes 
cobrun cgiapp $* 

Introduction to the World-Wide Web