Users finding the nq00001.pl script

[malbro]

According to the statistics (awstats) on our web site, hundreds of visitors per month access nq00001.pl, a number of which are shown as entering or exiting the site from this file.

According to the FAQ:

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Issue: What does the nq000001.pl script do? My web logs show lots of people getting to this script and getting no further.

Solution: This script is called by Actinic during an upload or a download. It is not called by the online store at all.
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So as we are looking at the stats for the online store how come this file is getting so many hits.?

[Goz]

The nq00001.pl script displays and logs script errors during upload/download.

Can't be any more helpful than that but it's a start....

[malbro]

The nq00001.pl script displays and logs script errors during upload/download.

I am assuming that this means digital upload/ download which I do not have on the site.

If it refers to my updating the site then it is suggesting over 30 times a day, I would expect that I might possibly average one upload per day over a month, not thirty.

[Goz]

It refers to the general upload and downloads - nothing to do with digital files. I assume you download orders - this may indicate a problem in this area.

[malbro]

Thanks for the response, there is nothing in the error log regarding uploads or downloads so I am still mystified.

[Mike Hughes]

From what I can see the nq.... script is used to manage files on the server. i.e. it creates/changes/deletes/locks/sets permissions (and reports back any error conditions when doing this) for all the files including orders and presumably session files.

So it's not only used for uploads and downloads but also for all the visitor and customer related files as well.

I wouldn't be surprised to see this running hundreds of times each day but it depends on how busy your site is.

Mike

[Goz]

So it's not only used for uploads and downloads but also for all the visitor and customer related files as well.

You live and learn. I got my info from support....

[Mike Hughes]

You live and learn. I got my info from support....

I went and looked at the script so I'm basing my interpretation on the code. It isn't the commented version so the function of the code isn't defined and I could easily be wrong about it being used for creating the session and order files. Having a script that manages files it would seem to make sense to use it all the time rather than duplicate the effort.

There's definitely stuff in there about order numbers, so at the very least I believe it is used for downloading orders files. It might be called several times for each order downloaded (to change permisions, read and delete each file) so maybe that's enough alone for it to be running as often as reported.

Mike

EDIT: PS. There's nothing that suggest any website visitor should be running this code. What exactly is showing in awstats?

[fergusw]

Mike,
I just had a quick scan of the perl in this file and I believe you are correct.
There are several functions in there for locking.unlocking files and retrieving dayno's and other functions regarding deleting and editing files as well as order number functions.
It seems this file could be a bit of a workhorse especially with customer accounts enabled, and hence explain why the OP may be seeing it getting hammered in the stats.

[malbro]

Mike,
I just had a quick scan of the perl in this file and I believe you are correct.

I have spent some time on detective work and this is definitely not just upload/ download for files, the original source code is perlsrcipt.pl in the 'original' folder, BTW this is a fully commented version. This is the file that produces any CATALOG errors in error.err

Thanks for all those who posted, at least I now know why I get so many visitors getting this script.