# Syntax error when running dispatch.cgi

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/syntax-error-when-running-dispatch-cgi/61256>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [May 22, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/syntax-error-when-running-dispatch-cgi/61256 "2006-05-22T14:42:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tuktuk](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tuktuk](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tuktuk)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/syntax-error-when-running-dispatch-cgi/61256/1 "2006-05-22T14:42:23Z")

</div>

Hi,

when I execute dispatch.cgi at the command line, I get the following  
error message:

[cg@cg rails]$ ./public/dispatch.cgi  
./public/dispatch.cgi:3:in `require’:  
./public/…/config/environment.rb:8: syntax error, unexpected ‘\<’  
(SyntaxError)  
\<%= '# ’ if freeze %\>RAILS\_GEM\_VERSION = ‘\<%= Rails::VERSION::STRING %\>’  
^ from ./public/dispatch.cgi:3  
[cg@cg rails]$

I was asked to install Ruby on Rails on a web server but I don’t know  
anything about ruby (…), so I’m not sure what it’s complaining about.

cg.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tuktuk](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tuktuk](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tuktuk)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/syntax-error-when-running-dispatch-cgi/61256/2 "2006-05-22T15:28:13Z")

</div>

Carsten Gaebler wrote:

> \<%= '# ’ if freeze %\>RAILS\_GEM\_VERSION = ‘\<%= Rails::VERSION::STRING %\>’  
> ^ from ./public/dispatch.cgi:3

What are the contents of your config/environment.rb? Sounds like maybe  
its got screwed somehow?

Mine has no ‘\<%=’ in it at all.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tuktuk](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tuktuk](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tuktuk)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/syntax-error-when-running-dispatch-cgi/61256/3 "2006-05-22T16:33:43Z")

</div>

Hates\_ wrote:

> What are the contents of your config/environment.rb? Sounds like maybe  
> its got screwed somehow?

[cg@cg config]$ cat environment.rb

# Be sure to restart your web server when you modify this file.

# Uncomment below to force Rails into production mode when

# you don’t control web/app server and can’t set it the proper way

# ENV[‘RAILS\_ENV’] ||= ‘production’

# Specifies gem version of Rails to use when vendor/rails is not present

\<%= '# ’ if freeze %\>RAILS\_GEM\_VERSION = ‘\<%= Rails::VERSION::STRING %\>’

# Bootstrap the Rails environment, frameworks, and default configuration

require File.join(File.dirname( **FILE** ), ‘boot’)

Rails::Initializer.run do |config|

# Settings in config/environments/\* take precedence those specified

here

# Skip frameworks you’re not going to use

# config.frameworks -= [:action\_web\_service, :action\_mailer]

# Add additional load paths for your own custom dirs

# config.load\_paths += %W( #{RAILS\_ROOT}/extras )

# Force all environments to use the same logger level

# (by default production uses :info, the others :debug)

# config.log\_level = :debug

# Use the database for sessions instead of the file system

# (create the session table with ‘rake db:sessions:create’)

# config.action\_controller.session\_store = :active\_record\_store

# Use SQL instead of Active Record’s schema dumper when creating the

test database.

# This is necessary if your schema can’t be completely dumped by the

schema dumper,

# like if you have constraints or database-specific column types

# config.active\_record.schema\_format = :sql

# Activate observers that should always be running

# config.active\_record.observers = :cacher, :garbage\_collector

# Make Active Record use UTC-base instead of local time

# config.active\_record.default\_timezone = :utc

# See Rails::Configuration for more options

end

# Add new inflection rules using the following format

# (all these examples are active by default):

# Inflector.inflections do |inflect|

# inflect.plural /^(ox)$/i, ‘\1en’

# inflect.singular /^(ox)en/i, ‘\1’

# inflect.irregular ‘person’, ‘people’

# inflect.uncountable %w( fish sheep )

# end

# Include your application configuration below

[cg@cg config]$

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tuktuk](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@tuktuk](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tuktuk)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/syntax-error-when-running-dispatch-cgi/61256/4 "2006-05-22T22:44:03Z")

</div>

Doesn’t look right to me :S

Mine says, with all the comments taken out:

RAILS\_GEM\_VERSION = ‘1.1.2’  
require File.join(File.dirname( **FILE** ), ‘boot’)  
Rails::Initializer.run do |config|

end