LaTeX Installing Latex on Apache Server (Linux/Windows)

AI Thread Summary
To install mimetex on an Apache server, the CGI file must be correctly compiled and placed in the cgi-bin directory. The configuration in httpd.conf must allow for ExecCGI, which may vary based on server setup. Common errors include internal server errors and permission issues, often resolved by ensuring the CGI file has the correct read and execute permissions. A successful installation was achieved by changing the file transfer mode to binary during upload. Additionally, modifying the source code may be necessary to implement bound checking for security purposes.
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I am trying to install mimetex on my webhosts server so that I can generate latex images similar to on this website. i have to simply get the cgi (which i have to compile). The thing is the webhost's server is running apache on linux and i run windows. I downloaded a precompiled cgi package for linux and place the appropriate file in the cgi bin; it did not work. What i wanted to know is whether or not the cgi file would be valid if i compiled the cgi file in windows?
 
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Works for me just fine. This is what I did:

1) Downloaded this:

http://www.forkosh.com/mimetex.exe/linux/mimetex.zip

2) unzip file

3) moved mimetex.cgi into my cgi-bin file

4) Uncommented the following lines in httpd.conf

<Directory /home/*/public_html/cgi-bin>
Options ExecCGI
SetHandler cgi-script
</Directory>

Step 4 will differ based on the type of configuration you have.

I can now go to this page: http://localhost/~dduardo/cgi-bin/mimetex.cgi?x^2+y^2
and it will display the latex picture.

The problem I suspect you have is that they that your host doesn't allow ExecCGI. Are you getting a prompt asking you what to do with the cgi file?
 
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This the error that I am getting:

Internal Server Error
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@themodule.net and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
 
Are you sure you have the proper permissions for the cgi file (read+execute)? Does your host allow SSH login?

http://www.forkosh.dreamhost.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=20&sid=2be7b872df40ddf3826d30e833311485
 
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Finally I got it to work. The thing is, I use ws_ftp for uploading my files and the transfer mode was on "auto", something just told me to manually select binary and when i did that it got it to work. Thanks a lot for the help dduardo.
 
Just a note: it doesn't look like mimetex does bound checking, so potentially someone could generate a huge random string, putting the server in a loop. This is something were modifying the source and compiling it would be helpful.
 
I am planning on using php to control the input strings. And I only plan on short strings because I'm just using this for a transition table builder that I am writing in php.
 
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