CGI counter

[sunnny]

Hi,

I am trying to create a hidden counter. What would be the best way to create this. I know there are lots of scripts that I can use, but they are not easy to modify. I thought cgi would be the way to go but I am not sure. I want to maintain the number of hits for each page and then view them from a text file. So something like "URL of file : number of hits" should be stored in the file. Also when I include a cgi file to a .shtml page I get a 404 error, I don't know why?. I don't know how to get started or what would be the best way to create this. Thanks!

Sunny

[perl_diver]

post the SSI tag you have been trying to use.

[sunnny]

Hi I am using this:

<!--#include virtual="http://10.42.13.212/cgi-bin/counter.cgi"-->

[coopster]

The URL cannot contain a scheme or hostname, only a path and an optional query string.

mod_include [httpd.apache.org]

[sunnny]

Thanks. Okay this is what I want to do. Our server doesn't offer support for dynamic pages so in short we cannot develop scripts on that server. We want to create a hidden counter for a .shtml page on that server and since that server doesn't support dynamic page we though we can put the script on a different server that supports scripts and then include it in the .shtml file. So...I just found out that this cannot be done. Is there anyway that I can create a hidden counter for a .shtml page on a server that doesnot support scripting of any kind. Note: I can still develop and host the scrit on a seperate server but I need a way for it to communicate to the .shtml page. Any ideas thoughts?

Thanks,
Sunny

[coopster]

My first thought is that you are interesting in server side scripting and the powerful options you have, and that is great. However, you are hosting your site(s) with a provider that doesn't allow it, that's not great -- perhaps a new partner is something to consider? ;)

Alternatives? Well, you could always use a hidden image in your page to hit the other server with some type of query string that you could use to provide tracking.

[sunnny]

Well..I guess we cannot change providers since this is a corporate intranet and the organization doesn't want us to change providers because they don't understand the power of server side scripting. Anyhow, I was looking for alternatives, could you please explain on the method that you suggested(I think it is a good idea!).

Thanks again,
Sunny

[coopster]

It's a very common approach used by site stat providers and site hit counters.

You have an image file in the page which is a reference link. It is basically a 1x1 pixel image of ... well nothing. The url leads to a script that logs the info and sends back the image, ... that never gets seen.