ch22.htm

this is a book on pearl , simple example with explanation is given here. it could be beneficial for

<TABLE BORDERCOLOR=#000000 BORDER=1 WIDTH=80%>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242><I>Script</I></TD><TD WIDTH=349><I>Description</I>

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>Selena Sol's Electronic Outlet 2.0 (database)

</TD><TD WIDTH=349>Implements a shopping cart system using a database

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>Selena Sol's Electronic Outlet 2.0 (HTML)</TD>

<TD WIDTH=349>Implements a shopping cart system using HTML</TD>

</TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>Cool Runnings Music Catalog</TD><TD WIDTH=349>Shopping cart coNCept for catalogs

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>The Form Processor</TD><TD WIDTH=349>Process form input, using hidden variables

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>Database Manager 2.0</TD><TD WIDTH=349>A flat file database management tool

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>Database Search Engine 1.0</TD><TD WIDTH=349>Search engine for the Database Manager 2.0

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>Groupware Calendar</TD><TD WIDTH=349>Calendar that can be read/modified by group

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>Keyword Search Engine 3.0</TD><TD WIDTH=349>Traverses HTML documents searching for keyword and returns output

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>authentification-lib.pl</TD><TD WIDTH=349>Authentification perl module

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=242>date.pl</TD><TD WIDTH=349>Date based perl module

</TD></TR>

</TABLE>

</CENTER>

<P>

<H3><A NAME="TheWebDevelopersVirtualLibrary">

The Web Developer's Virtual Library</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.stars.com</B>

<P>

This site is a very comprehensive resource that the site terms

a &quot;Web developer's eNCyclopedia.&quot; There are many tutorials

on HTML, CGI, HTTP, Databases, and Style Guidelines. This site

is an iNCredibly rich source of links to virtually any Web development-related

topic you can think of. The CGI page has 69 links, the HTML has

55 links, and so on. This site is definitely a must for visiting,

especially when you have time to do a little link hopping and

exploring, or when you need to find a Web development resource.

<H3><A NAME="IntroductiontoCGI">

Introduction to CGI</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.virtualville.com/library/cgi.html</B>

<P>

This site explains how the CGI specification works and provides

a nice set of link to other resources.

<H3><A NAME="PerlforWin">

Perl for Win32</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.perl.hip.com/ - home page<BR>

</B>http://www.perl.hip.com/PerlFaq.htm - FAQ<BR>

http://www.perl.hip.com/perlis.htm - DLL for MS IIS

<P>

I believe that hip communications iNC. has the most advaNCed and

stable Perl implementation for Windows 95 and Windows NT. They

have also made a DLL available to let Perl work with the Microsoft

Internet Information Server. This library will work with the Microsoft

Internet Information Server to improve the efficieNCy of CGI access

with Perl. Note that the release of this DLL may still be a beta

release.

<H3><A NAME="RandalLSchwartzsHomePage">

Randal L. Schwartz's Home Page</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.teleport.com/~merlyn/</B>

<P>

Randal is one of the most knowledgeable Perl gurus. His home page

has links to some of the columns that he wrote for the <I>Web

Techniques</I> and <I>UNIX Review</I> magazines.

<H3><A NAME="DaleBewleysPerlScriptsandLinks">

Dale Bewley's Perl Scripts and Links!</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.engr.iupui.edu/~dbewley/perl/ - Perl information

<BR>

<B>http://www.engr.iupui.edu/~dbewley/cgi/ - CGI information</B></B>

<P>

These web pages are very nicely laid out. They contain sections

on books, refereNCes, tutorials, and script archives. In addition,

Dale frequents the #perl and #cgi irc channels using a nickname

of dwnwrd. Make sure to say hi if you see him. Figure 22.3 shows

the beginning of Dale's Perl page.

<P>

<A HREF="f22-3.gif"><B>Figure 22.3 : </B><I>Dale's Perl Page</I>.</A>

<H3><A NAME="MattsScriptArchive">

Matt's Script Archive</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts/</B>

<P>

Matt Wright's scripts are turning up all over the Web. His Perl

page has examples of guestbooks, counters, and simple search scripts.

<H3><A NAME="TheComprehensivePerlArchiveNetwork">

The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.perl.com/CPAN - this site will connect you to a

mirror site.<BR>

</B>ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/ - use if Perl

server is done.

<P>

The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network is a set of Web sites that

mirror another. The network is a volunteer organization so don't

expect a lot of documentation and hand-holding. At each site,

there is a sub-directory labeled <TT>/modules</TT>

which will contain refereNCes to various Perl modules that are

stored there. To access a list of the modules look at the <TT>/modules/01modules.index.html</TT>

Web page. Module development guidelines can be found at <TT>/modules/00modlist.long.html</TT>.

In addition, the modules are listed by author, category, and by

module.

<P>

Also, check out the <TT>/scripts</TT>

sub-directory. This sub-directory is itself sub-divided into more

directories, each representing a different category. Each category

has scripts that can be examined, used, and modified.

<H3><A NAME="DatabaseAPIforPerl">

Database API for Perl</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.hermetica.com/technologia/DBI/index.html - DBperl

home page<BR>

</B>http://www.fugue.com/dbi/ - DBperl mailing lists

<P>

Tim BuNCe, the author of Dbperl says, &quot;DBperl is a database

access Application Programming Interface (API) for the Perl Language.

The DBperl API Specification defines a set of fuNCtions, variables

and conventions that provide a consistent database interface independent

of the actual database being used.&quot; With DBperl you can access

the following databases: Oracle, Sybase, mSQL, Informix, and Quickbase.

Plans are currently underway to implement an interface for ODBC.

<H3>The cgi-lib.pl Home Page</H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.bio.cam.ac.uk/cgi-lib/</B>

<P>

This famous library is widely used by many Perl/CGI programmers.

The library iNCludes fuNCtions such as <TT>ReadParse()</TT>

which will parse the data passed to the script from the form,

or <TT>HtmlTop()</TT> and <TT>HtmlBot()</TT>

which will print out specific &lt;head&gt; and end of &lt;body&gt;

sections of an HTML document.<BR>

<p>

<CENTER>

<TABLE BORDERCOLOR=#000000 BORDER=1 WIDTH=80%>

<TR><TD><B>Caution</B></TD></TR>

<TR><TD>

<BLOCKQUOTE>

Before using this library, read information on the http://perl.com/perl/info/www/!cgi-lib.html Web page for a cogent set of reasons why you should use the <TT>CGI.pm</TT> module instead.

</BLOCKQUOTE>



</TD></TR>

</TABLE>

</CENTER>

<P>

<H3><A NAME="TheCGICollection">

The CGI Collection</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.selah.net/cgi.html</B>

<P>

This site has a set of scripts, some created with Perl and some

created with C. Among some of the scripts you can find at this

site are those listed in Table 22.3. In particular check out how

a simple little script such as <TT>Logger.cgi</TT>

can perform a very useful fuNCtion.<BR>

<P>

<CENTER><B>Table 23.3&nbsp;&nbsp;Robert Niles' CGI Collection

Web Site</B></CENTER>

<p>

<CENTER>

<TABLE BORDERCOLOR=#000000 BORDER=1 WIDTH=80%>

<TR><TD WIDTH=115><I>Script Name</I></TD><TD WIDTH=430><I>Description</I>

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=115>MailForm.cgi</TD><TD WIDTH=430>Customizable mailform CGI script that iNClude To, Cc, and Bcc fields

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=115>Guestbook.cgi</TD><TD WIDTH=430>Guestbook CGI script

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=115>Logger.cgi</TD><TD WIDTH=430>Very simple script that will log visitors

</TD></TR>

<TR><TD WIDTH=115>FrameChat</TD><TD WIDTH=430>Odd little application that will implement a frames based chat service. Perl 5 is required

</TD></TR>

</TABLE>

</CENTER>

<P>

<H3><A NAME="HTMLFormProcessingModulesHFPMHomePage">

HTML Form Processing Modules (HFPM) Home Page</A></H3>

<P>

The HFPM is a set of modules written to accept a submitted HTML

form, possibly modify the contents of the submitted fields, and

output the result using e-mail, appending to a file, and/or displaying

it to the user or returning an arbitrary URL. They also operate

on the environmental variables passed in from the client and server.

<P>

You will need perl5 and a UNIX-based system to use the modules

listed at this site, and a copy of <TT>CGI.pm</TT>,

mentioned previously.

<H3><A NAME="PureAmiga">

PureAmiga</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://www.netlink.co.uk/users/PureAmiga/pcgi/index.html</B>

<P>

You might think that all of the activity for CGI scripting with

Perl is done only on UNIX or Windows NT. However, this site has

many excellent examples of CGI scripting for the Amiga.

<H3><A NAME="MacPerl">

MacPerl</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://err.ethz.ch/~neeri/macintosh/perl.html - home page<BR>

</B>http://www.unimelb.edu.au/~ssilcot/macperl - primer/home.html

- tutorial<BR>

http://www.marketspace.com.au/~adam/ - scripts<BR>

ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/ha/hal/MacPerl/faq.html - FAQ

<P>

Apple computers can also run Perl.

<H3><A NAME="CGIScriptsandHTMLForms">

CGI Scripts and HTML Forms</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://kufacts.cc.ukans.edu/info/forms/forms-intro.html</B>

<P>

This site contains a nice little introduction to CGI and forms.

Not only does it describe the process, it also provides graphics

that demonstrate how HTML Forms/CGI interact.

<H3><A NAME="TheCGIDocumentationbyNCSA">

The CGI Documentation by NCSA</A></H3>

<P>

<B>http://hoohoo.NCsa.uiuc.edu/docs/cgi/</B>

<P>

If you want to learn something, sometimes you just have to go

back to the source. This site provides a CGI overview. It also

iNCludes tips on writing secure CGI scripts, a topic that must

always coNCern CGI programmers.

<H3><A NAME="MiscellaneousSites">

Miscellaneous Sites</A></H3>

<P>

The basic Perl manual can be found at: <B>http://www.atmos.washington.edu/perl/perl.html</B>

<P>

The University of Florida Perl page can be found at: <B>http://www0.cise.ufl.edu/perl/</B>

<H2><A NAME="InternetRelayChatorIRC"><FONT SIZE=5 COLOR=#FF0000>

Internet Relay Chat, or IRC</FONT></A></H2>

<P>

The Internet Relay Chat service is a powerful tool. If you're

lucky you can connect with very knowledgeable people who will

answer your questions. The advantage of IRC is that you can hold

a real-time conversation with other people. You ask a question,

they respond. You can then ask for clarification or actually try

the advice. If you still have a problem, you can ask for more

advice. Figure 22.4 shows a random snapshot of the IRC channels.

<P>

<A HREF="f22-4.gif"><B>Figure 22.4 : </B><I>A random Snapshot of the IRC Channels</I>.</A>

<P>

There are several networks that have arisen to support IRC: EfNet,

Undernet, and DALnet. The Perl gurus hang out on EfNet. The <TT>#perl</TT>

IRC channel is a good place to go for general Perl questions.

If you have basic questions, you can try <TT>#perl-basics</TT>.

CGI questions should be directed to <TT>#cgi</TT>.

<P>

The Windows 95 program mIRC has been iNCluded on the CD that accompanies

this book. Install it and try connecting to one of the EfNet servers.

I like to use <TT>irc.cris.com</TT>.

ONCe connected-keep trying; it may take a few tries-<TT><B><FONT FACE="Courier">type

/join #perl</FONT></B></TT> and say hello to everyone. You might

even see me-my nickname is WasWaldo.

<H2><A NAME="Summary"><FONT SIZE=5 COLOR=#FF0000>

Summary</FONT></A></H2>

<P>

You've finally reached the end of the journey that was mentioned

in <A HREF="ch1.htm" >Chapter 1</A> &quot;Getting Your Feet Wet.&quot; I hope you enjoyed

reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. While I was

doing research, I took advantage of every resource listed in this

chapter. If you have unanswered questions, I urge you to ask them

either in IRC or the relevant newsgroup. With today's fast communications

it doesn't make sense to hold up a project when the answer might

be available in minutes or hours.

<P>

The easiest resource to use is the Usenet newsgroups. Simply send

a message to an appropriate newsgroup with a carefully worded

subject line before you leave work for the evening. The odds are

good that you will have a response by the next morning. Most of

time you should use the <TT>comp.lang.perl.misc</TT>

newsgroup.

<P>

When you have some unruly code that should work but doesn't, consider

looking on the Perl home page (<B>http://www.perl.com</B>) to

see if a new bug has been found. 

<P>

If you need ideas or would like to get a head start on your next

programming project, you can search for Perl programs at the Yahoo

(<B>http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Programming_Languages/Perl/</B>)

Web site. By starting at the Yahoo site, you always see an updated

list of available Perl resources. Some sites (like Dale Dewley's-<B>http://www.engr.iupui.edu/~dbewley/perl/</B>)

has resources that you will refer to over and over again.

<P>

Sometimes, you absolutely can't wait for an answer. When you have

pressing deadlines or your brain is frazzled, turn to the #perl

channel on an Efnet IRC server.

<P>

At this point there's nothing left to say but...<BR>

Happy Programing!

<HR>



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