Find great Perl resources at Builder.com

by Shelley Doll | Oct 23, 2002 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Shelley Doll

Takeaway: If you're looking for Perl content, this list of resources will save you some time. Find the information you need on the Builder.com Web site with the help of this article roundup.

If you’re looking for a collection of Perl resources, look no further! I’ve compiled a list of Perl articles from Builder.com’s archives, ranging from caching to XML, to help you find the information you need. In addition to these articles, you can get useful information from our twice-weekly Perl newsletter. To subscribe, simply visit the E-newsletters page, select the Perl check box, and click Update My E-newsletters.

Most of our Perl resources are located on the Program tab under Web Technologies or on the Web Design tab’s Programming & Scripting section. If you don't want to spend time searching, these links will get you started:

• “Serving it up fast: Efficient CGI page generation” by Nigel McFarlane provides a benchmarked comparison between delivering dynamic content with HERE documents, templates, and CGI.pm. The article provides an excellent explanation of this process and some not-so-surprising results.
• “Discover Perl’s File::Find module” by Dan Seewer walks you through a script using Perl’s Find module and stat functions for locating files that meet various criteria. This script works on Windows or UNIX, and the article includes usable code in its entirety.
• “Tap into the power of CPAN” by yours truly provides installation instructions, links to resources, and usage tips for various means of accessing CPAN Perl modules.
• “Using Perl to take control of HTTP caching” by Nigel McFarlane offers an excellent explanation of looking at HTTP headers with Perl to take advantage of HTTP caching and expiration capabilities.
• “Use Perl DBI to build portable scripts for database access,” again by yours truly, explains how to get, install, configure, and use DBI to connect to your database with the least fuss between vendors. It provides two sample scripts to get you up and running quickly.
• “Perl conditions: Sorting out ‘and’ and ‘or’” by Nigel McFarlane is a primer for newbies, explaining when and where to use the various ‘and’ and ‘or’ conditions.
• “Parsing XML documents with Perl,” which is by me, gives a detailed explanation and example of using XML::Parser to make your own XML-generated output.
• “Perl data routing lets you customize transaction processing” by Nigel McFarlane is a must-read article that explains the use of HTTP::Headers and LWP::UserAgent to dynamically route information based on header content so you can customize display data, logging, and so on. It contains a useful sample script.

In addition to these resources, you may also want to check out some of Builder.com’s other Perl titles from this year:

• “Diagnose Perl CGI bugs by studying HTTP requests”
• “Learn about Perl statements with this script walk-through”
• “Perl tips: Understanding flow control”
• “Creating your first Perl module”
• “Adopting good Perl OOP habits”
• “Working with the range operator in Perl”
• “Perl tips: A good source for Win32 modules and an easier compile process”
• “Work more efficiently with Perl regular expressions”
• “Use Perl to develop wireless applications”
• “Generate multilevel reports and simulate static variables in Perl”

As you can see, Builder.com contributors have created a wide range of Perl resources for every occasion. If you’d like us to cover some Perl topics that aren’t listed here, drop our editors an e-mail with your ideas.