#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use CGI;
$|=1;
my $cgi = CGI::new();
my $time = $cgi->param("time");
my $tmp_path = "/path/to/html/dir/tmp"; # path to temporary html directory
my $tmp_url = "http://domain.com/dir/tmp"; # URL to temporary html directory
# create tmp file name
my $timestamp = time();
my $basefilename = "test_$timestamp";
my $tmp_filename = "${basefilename}_tmp.html";
my $final_filename = "$basefilename.html";
# create meta refresh page
open(REFRESH,">$tmp_path/$final_filename");
print REFRESH "\n\n" .
"\n\n
This page will refresh every 5 seconds until your results are complete." .
"
\n\n\n\n\n";
close(REFRESH);
# fork
if(my $pid = fork) {
## parent process
# send redirect
print "Location: $tmp_url/$final_filename\n\n";
} else {
## child process
# close STDIN/OUT
open(STDIN,"/dev/null");
open(STDOUT,">/dev/null");
# do something that takes a while
sleep($time);
# create completed page
open(FINAL,">$tmp_path/$tmp_filename");
print FINAL "\n\n\n\n
Results Page" .
"
\n\n\n\n\n";
close(FINAL);
# overwrite meta-refresh page with completed page
`mv $tmp_path/$tmp_filename $tmp_path/$final_filename`;
} # end if
exit(0);