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

I use #!/usr/bin/perl in my scripts and configure Apache on Windows to ignore the shebang line. Add

 ScriptInterpreterSource Registry-Strict

to your httpd.conf and set up the Windows Registry key as explained in the Apache docs.

Here is what I get when I export the key:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pl\Shell\ExecCGI\Command]@="c:\\opt\\perl\\bin\\perl.exe"

I have been using this setup with Apache and ActiveState Perl on my Windows laptop and the Apache and Perl distributions that come with ArchLinux on my server.

The Apache docs (to which I linked above) state:

The option Registry-Strict which is new in Apache 2.0 does the same thing as Registry but uses only the subkey Shell\ExecCGI\Command. The ExecCGI key is not a common one. It must be configured manually in the windows registry and hence prevents accidental program calls on your system. (emphasis mine)

There is no portable shebang line. Even on the same platform and architecture, someone might have installed perl is a different location.

The trick is to not install modules and scripts by hand. When you package everything as distributions and use the module toolchain, the shebang lines are modified automatically to point to the perl you used to install everything. You shouldn't have to think about these details. :)

I use #! /usr/bin/env perl as the shebang on all of my perl, whether on *nix or Windows. Windows just ignores it, and the Unixen follow env to the chosen perl disto.