Most Popular Scripts | CGI & Perl | Tutorials & Tips

The author writes "CGI::Application builds upon the bedrock of CGI, adding a structure for writing truly reusable Web-applications. CGI::Application takes what works about CGI and simply provides a structure to negate some of the more onerous programming techniques that have cast an unfavorable light upon it. CGI::Application code is so universal and non-proprietary that it works exceedingly well on any operating system and Web server that supports Perl and CGI. The CGI::Application structure makes it possible for authors to distribute, for the first time, fully functional and sophisticated Web-applications via CPAN.

The new Inline module for Perl allows you to write code in other languages (like C, Python, Tcl, or Java), as well as toss it into Perl scripts. Unlike previous ways of interfacing C code with Perl, Inline is very easy to use, and very much in keeping with the Perl philosophy. One extremely useful application of Inline is to write quick wrapper code around a C-language library to use it from Perl.

Those who use Perl as a programming language frequently forget that it is just as useful as a quick and dirty scripting engine for command-line operations. From the command line Perl can accomplish, in just a single line, tasks that require pages of code in most other languages. This article takes you through some useful examples.

This 6-page article explains what XML is, and what it can be used for. It also shows how to develop a Perl script to retrieve and display the contents of HTML embedded XML tags, and how to create a script that gathers news headlines from an XML file and creates an HTML news summary. Full source code for each script available for download.

This is a series of short tutorials on programming in Perl. It covers a wide range of topics from Basic Syntax, Variables, Scalars, Strings, Functions, Lists, Arrays, Hashes to Conditionals, Subroutines, and File operators. Using all the concepts featured in the series, in the end, you will have a mailform that takes the results of an HTML form and mail the values to a specified person.

Creating an XML-RPC Web service with Perl is almost as easy as CGI scripting. This article will bring you up to speed on what XML-RPC is and how to use Perl's Frontier::RPC library to create simple clients and servers. Included are samples of XML-RPC conversation diagrams and datatypes.

In this Part 21 of "The Perl You Need To Know" series, it covers the Benchmark module � the handy Perl stopwatch that allows you to time, optimize, and slim down on code.

For those who don't want to get tied up with a relational database and all the supporting software needed, yet still need to store a dataset to disk for future use, this tutorial provides several Perl DBM, or database management, solutions which have much less overheard than DBI and are a quick way to store and use Perl data structures to and from disk.

This article explains how to validate the structure of your XML documents with Perl. It does so by combining the simplicity of Test.pm from the standard Perl distribution with the flexibility of XPath.

This is a step-by-step tutorial on how to set up a guestbook using a perl and a MySQL backend. This SQL backend application would be ideal for companies such as GuestWorld who run free public guestbooks.

Perl OOP can sometimes be a little confusing, especially for the inexperienced newbie. The first of a two-part article, this tutorial attempts to simplify things with a light-hearted look at some basic OO concepts in Perl. Play nice, and you might even get your very own Easter bunny!

Tired of writing Perl code to parse form data? Take a leaf from the book of the experts and let CGI.pm do all the work for you. This article introduces you to CGI.pm's powerful page construction and form parsing capabilities, with simple examples of how you can use it to simplify your Perl development.

The author notes "This tutorial provides a problem-oriented introduction to Perl within the context of CGI. The approach is narrative. A problem is introduced and the tutorial then proceeds, step by step, to solve the problem. Perl concepts and features are introduced as they are needed to accomplish each step." This tutorial is divided into seven steps: Perl framework and mechanics; Hello, World; Hello, World, from CGI; Hello, World, from CGI, in HTML; Echo Environment Variables; Echo STDIN Variables; and Perl Library.

This tutorial provides a summary of basic Perl features, organized in categories. It consists of six major sections: Variables and their Related Operators, Control structures, Functions, Regular Expressions, Input/Output, and System Operators.

In this Part 10 of "The Perl You Need to Know" series, you will be shown how to work with Perl's list and hash data structures.

This article focuses on setting up MySQL and understanding its various management complexities. Shows how to create a MySQL database and populate a table with data.

This is a comprehensive tutorial on object-oriented programming in Perl. Some of main topics include: Creating a Class, Class Data, Aggregation, Metaclassical Tools, and more.

The first part in a new series that introduces Perl to people who haven't programmed before. Some of main topics covered include: Functions and Statements, Numbers, Strings and Quotes, Variables, Comments, Loops, and more.

mod_perl is a terrific fusion of the Apache Web server and the Perl language that embeds a copy of the Perl interpreter inside Apache, allowing you to not only speed up existing CGI scripts but also extend your Web server in ways previously unavailable to most webmasters. This tutorial explains from how to install mod_perl to Databasing with Mod_perl.

This Part 5 of the Perl 101 series introduces you to subroutines and teaches you how to structure your code for maximum reusability. Also included: return values, my() and local() constructs, and a marriage proposal.