cfset in html page

Report · May 27, 2012

I have an html home page but wish to add some cf (CF9).

So I change the page name to index.cfm and add at line 1 :

This is later used by a javascript function.

It works fine and the browsers show everything correctly and all the javascript runs no problem.

But now some spiders cannot access the page. They get an error 500 and the error is

Error Occurred While Processing Request Variable ARACCEPTLANGUAGE is undefined.

The website is www.booxotel.com and the spider simulator I used is at

http://www.webconfs.com/search-engine-spider-simulator.php

Can anybody offer any clues how I can solve this?

Doug

Report · May 27, 2012

Well the error message itself pretty much tells you the first thing to do to start troubleshooting this:

Variable ARACCEPTLANGUAGE is undefined. Resources: Enable Robust Exception Information to provide greater detail about the source of errors.

That's what you should be doing.

--

Adam

Report · May 27, 2012

Unfortunately, this is running on a shared server and the host has the Robust Exception permanently switched off.

Report · May 28, 2012

Unfortunately, this is running on a shared server and the host has the Robust Exception permanently switched off.

Do you not have a dev environment that is under your control?

You should be able to emulate whatever that spider-test-site thing does, and replicate this on dev.

--

Adam

Report · May 28, 2012

Do you not have a dev environment that is under your control?

Yes, but there is no error from a browser on our dev server, and I don't know how to simulate a crawler in our local environment, and I don't think this server has a fixed IP so that it can be accessed from the web.

Doug

Report · May 29, 2012

doug777 wrote:
... I don't know how to simulate a crawler in our local environment...

Easy: install HTTrack.

Report · May 29, 2012

I've had a look at HTTrack, but this just seems to download the website to view in a browser.

But we've already got the website and there is no CF error if you access these pages from a browser.

I can see that from the exception log both in our own local server and the log supplied by our online server host that the exceptions only occur when the site is accessed by some spiders.

To be any use I would need to be able to download and run a spider directly on our local host.

Doug

Report · May 27, 2012

doug777 wrote:
<cfset arAcceptLanguage = GetPageContext().getRequest().getHeader("Accept-Language")>
This is later used by a javascript function.

How do you pass the ColdFusion variable to Javascript? By means of the toScript function perhaps?

The ColdFusion variable belongs to the server, whereas Javascript variables belong to the client. It can easily happen that the user-agent(browser or robot) reloads the page, hence the Javascript, without contacting the server.

Report · May 27, 2012

It is passed to javascript like this:

var countryCode = "us";

</script>

var countryCode = "#LCase(Mid(arAcceptLanguage[1]&"-"&Left(arAcceptLanguage[1], 2), 4, 2))#";

</script>

</cfif>

</cfoutput>

Report · May 28, 2012

Sorry the code I posted is not the correct code - it should be:

var countryCode = "us";

</script>

var countryCode = "#LCase(Mid(arAcceptLanguage, 4, 2))#";

</script>

</cfif>

</cfoutput>

This code is what is actually on the server. As I said before, it works correctly, but causes the 500 error and it looks as though the error occurs not at the cfset line or at the cfif line, but at line 8 in this snippet.

Report · May 28, 2012

doug777 wrote:
Sorry the code I posted is not the correct code - it should be:
<cfoutput>
    <cfif arAcceptLanguage EQ "">
        <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
            var countryCode = "us";
        </script>
    <cfelse>
        <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
            var countryCode = "#LCase(Mid(arAcceptLanguage, 4, 2))#";
        </script>
    </cfif>
</cfoutput>

The original error message was probably justified. Your Javascript indeed has no variable called arAcceptLanguage. What about something like this:

var countryCode = "us";

</script>

/* Define Javascript variables based on ColdFusion variables*/

var #toScript(countryCode, "countryCode")#;

var #toScript(arAcceptLanguage, "arAcceptLanguage")#;

</script>

</cfif>

</cfoutput>

Report · May 28, 2012

I have changed to your code and also changed the arAcceptLanguage variable to accLang (we thought there might be a caching problem), but the result is unchanged.

Doug

Report · May 28, 2012

I'm wondering if this is a timing problem. Is it possible that the response from the jvm to getRequest().getHeader("Accept-Language") is quick enough for a browser, which resolves the page later, but too slow for a crawler, which requires immediate resolution?

Doug

Report · May 29, 2012

doug777 wrote:
I'm wondering if this is a timing problem. Is it possible that the response from the jvm to getRequest().getHeader("Accept-Language") is quick enough for a browser, which resolves the page later, but too slow for a crawler, which requires immediate resolution?

I think, when it goes wrong, the variable is simply not defined. What about testing with something like this:

Updated by BKBK

Report · May 29, 2012

Yes it works!!

That's fantastic. Many many thanks.

Doug

Report · May 29, 2012

!

Report · May 29, 2012

doug777 wrote:
I have changed to your code and also changed the arAcceptLanguage variable to accLang (we thought there might be a caching problem), but the result is unchanged.

Then rule out caching. For example, place the following code at the top of the page, and see what happens.

Report · May 29, 2012

We are now certain there is no caching on the server.

Doug

cfset in html page

1 Correct answer