formmail-php or pl?

I've been trying to set up a simple formmail for 3 days. It did work and now it won't. I've searched the web and have tried 15 or so different approaches. I've seen many examples where you only have to put in your email in place of [email protected]
<FORM ACTION="/cgi-sys/formmail.pl" METHOD="POST">
<input type=hidden name="recipient" value="[email protected]">

The part I haven't been able to find a clear explanation of is when editing the formmail.pl file- exactly what do I have to there? do I need my isp address?

I've seen some examples using formmail.php and some using formmail.pl

I'd give anything for a clear working example.

Are you testing this script on your local PC or a configured server?

In this resource you will find a clear working example - PHP Form. This tutorial page is designed to help for develop with web forms: email form, feedback form and etc.
Good luck.