How do I ignore the Perl shebang on Windows with Apache 2?

Question

I have set up a local Perl web environment on my Windows machine. The application I\'m working on is originally from a Linux server, and so the shebang for source .pl<

Answer 1

1. Install any Windows Bash flavor (such as Cygwin, MSYS2 or GnuWin32);

2. Create a trivial redirecting shell script:

   exec "@"
   

3. Create a registry entry:

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.cgi\Shell\ExecCGI\Command]
   @=" "
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pl\Shell\ExecCGI\Command]
   @=" "
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.py\Shell\ExecCGI\Command]
   @=" "
   

   (...and so on.)

4. Jot in your httpd.conf file:

   ScriptInterpreterSource Registry
   

Apache will now resolve Unix shebangs relative to the interpretation given by your choosen Bash flavor. This gives much more flexibility than hardcoding interpreter paths in the registry.