How to make relative URL if "cgi-bin" is above the web root?

[perl2010]

Here is our server setup: at / (this isnt the webroot) we have the folders

/cgi-bin/
/data/
/htdocs/ (this is the webroot)

I have a script in /cgi-bin/chat/big_chat.pl That does a require of "utility2.pl" so it is in that same folder. Now big_chat.pl also needs to edit 2 files in 2 other folders

/data/text/chat.txt
/htdocs/cowboys/chat.txt

so big_chat.pl is setup like this

#!/usr/bin/perl

require 'utility2.pl';

&form_handler;

$textdir = "../../data/text";
$docfile = "../../htdocs/cowboys/$FORM{'3'}";
#...

Is that the correct way to do relative paths if you are working with a cgi-bin above the webroot?

[merlyn]

You aren't saying what the URL mapping is for each of those dirs, except "webroot", which we now know is "/". Is "/cgi-bin" mapping to your cgi-bin? What URL leads to your "/data", if any?

[perl2010]

Here are the URL mappings

/cgi-bin/ (http://example.com/cgi-bin/)
/data/ (this is not accessible via the web)
/htdocs/ (http://example.com/)

[merlyn]

Without commenting on the rest, I just noticed this:

$docfile = "../../htdocs/cowboys/$FORM{'3'}";

That's an attack vector accident just waiting to happen.

If you're creating this code, you need to read up on web security. A lot.

If you're just configuring it, please pass my concern along to the author.

[lostjimmy]

big_chat.pl is running on the server and doesn't care about relative paths with respect to the webserver. You are dealing with the server's filesystem at this point, so editing those other files is a matter of knowing what folders they are in. You could simply reference them as absolute paths.

$textdir = "/data/text";
$docfile = "/htdocs/cowboys/$FORM{'3'}";