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Perl Modules

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Perl Modules
by Eric Foster-Johnson M&T Books, 1998 ISBN 1-55851-570-4

Thanks   I want to express a very heartfelt thanks to Tom Grydeland, whose valuable help, suggestions, and comments made this a much better book. -Eric
About the book  
Once you've learned the basics of Perl, it's time to start making effective use of Perl's many add-on modules, as well as write your own.

Perl is one of the most widely-used scripting languages that runs on many platforms, including Windows and UNIX. A Perl module is a set of related Perl add-on functions, packaged together and released as a unit. Smart Perl coders make extensive use of Perl modules to save time and acquire a lot of Perl functionality for free. As you read this book, you'll be surprised at the incredible amounts of Perl code available--all for free.

This book covers how to use the many existing Perl freeware add-on modules and how to write your own. As such, it's an intermediate to advanced Perl book, concentrating on code reuse and taking advantage of the great many freeware modules out there.

Written as a follow-on to the popular Perl beginner's guide, Cross-Platform Perl, this book helps you take even more advantage of the features offered by Perl.

Filled with practical, hands-on examples, Perl Modules provides three parts: how to take advantage of Perl's modules, a guide to the most useful modules already available, and a step-by-step tutorial in how to write your own modules.

Available in Japanese from Shoeisha

Table of contents  
Section I: Object-Oriented Perl
Chapter 1: Perl
  • The Perl Philosophy
  • How Perl Works
  • Editing Perl Scripts
  • Verifying Perl is Installed
  • Creating Perl Scripts
  • Running Perl Scripts
  • Finding Out More
  • Programming in Perl
  • Variables
  • Controlling the Flow of Perl Scripts
  • Files
  • Standard Input, Output, and Error
  • Subroutines
Chapter 2: Object-Oriented Perl with Modules
  • Object-Oriented Perl
  • Object-Oriented Programming
  • The Benefits of Object-Oriented Programming
  • References
  • References to More Than Single Values
  • Anonymous References
  • Anonymous Subroutines
  • Perl Classes
  • Packages
  • Modules
  • Perl Objects
  • Creating Classes
  • Attributes
  • Methods

Section II: Using Modules
Chapter 3: Using Perl Modules

  • Standard Modules
  • Finding Out Which Directory You're In
  • Extracting Parts of a File Name with File::Basename
  • The Config Module
  • Determining What a Module Does
  • perldoc Options
  • File Modules
  • Copying Files with File::Copy
  • Finding Files with File::Find
  • Going Beyond the Standard Modules
  • Finding Other Modules
  • Installing New Modules
  • Other Modules
Chapter 4: Graphics
  • Using Perl for Graphics?
  • Using the GD Module
Chapter 5: The World Wide Web
  • The Growing Internet
  • Accessing the Web From Perl
  • Installing LWP
  • Getting a Web Document
  • Proxies
  • Verifying Links in a Web Document
  • Mirroring a Web Site
  • Converting a Web Document to Text
Chapter 6: Networking and Electronic Mail
  • Networking with Sockets
  • Network Addresses
  • Port Numbers
  • Clients and Servers
  • The IO::Socket Module
  • Creating a Server Application with IO::Socket::INET
  • Creating a Client Application with IO::Socket::INET
  • Checking If a System is Alive and Well with Net::Ping
  • File Transfers with Net::FTP
  • Electronic Mail
  • Sending Mail with Mail::Send
  • Creating MIME Attachments
  • Sending Mail with SMTP
  • Accessing POP3 Mail Servers from Net::POP3
  • Reading the Usenet News with Net::NNTP
Chapter 7: Windows Modules
  • The Win32 Modules
  • Getting Information About a Windows System
  • The Clipboard
  • Accessing the Windows Registry
  • Getting Values Held with a Key
  • Traversing the Registry
  • Networking with Win32::Internet
  • Creating Shortcuts to Commonly Used Programs
  • Making Your Computer Sing
  • Other Win32 Modules
Chapter 8: Databases
  • Data Warehouses, Cubbyholes, and Just Plain Databases
  • DBM Flat-File Databases
  • Tying Variables
  • Using DBM Routines with tie
  • Tying Scalar, Array, File Handle, and Hash Values
  • Modules for Working with tie
  • Accessing Commercial Databases
  • Getting Started with DBI
  • Queries with DBI

Section III: Writing Modules
Chapter 9: Delving Into Modules

  • Class Design
  • Inheritance
  • Is-A vs. Has-A Relationships
  • Implementing Inheritance In Perl
  • Module Names
  • The @ISA Array
  • Inheriting Methods
  • A New Format For Constructors
  • Overriding Methods
  • Inheriting Attributes As Well As Methods
  • Destructors
  • An Inheritance Example
  • The UNIVERSAL Module
  • Exporting Routines in Modules
  • Hiding Internal Module Data
  • Class Methods and Object Methods
  • Class Data and Object Data
  • Creating Modules Automatically
  • Deconstructing Modules
  • A Module Checklist
Chapter 10: Debugging Modules
  • Finding Syntax Errors
  • The diagnostics Pragma
  • Checking for Syntax Errors
  • Strict Discipline
  • Finding Out More About a Script As It Executes
  • Carping About Problems
  • Printing Debugging Information in Your Modules
  • Dumping the Symbol Table
  • Printing What perl Sees
  • The Perl Debugger
  • Testing Your Scripts
  • Coverage Analysis
  • Checking for Performance Problems
  • Benchmarking Perl Code
  • Profiling the Script's Performance
Chapter 11: Documenting Modules
  • POD, or Plain Old Documentation
  • Formatting POD Documents
  • Command Paragraphs
  • Formatting Blocks of Text
  • Expected Documentation
  • Embedding POD Formatting Commands in Your Perl Scripts
  • Intermixing Documentation and Perl Code
  • Converting POD Documents
  • Modules for Working with POD Documentation
Chapter 12: Installing Modules
  • Configuring MakeMaker
  • Basic Installation
  • Standard Files
  • Documentation in Your Module Files
  • The MANIFEST File
  • Standardized Testing
  • Installing a Module: Step by Step
  • Splitting Code for Efficiency
  • Using the SelfLoader
Chapter 13: Distributing Modules
  • The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
  • The CPAN Module
  • Building the Package for Distribution
  • Documenting Your Module File
  • Making Sure You Have A Version Number
  • The Testing Files
  • The MANIFEST File
  • The README File
  • Copyrights for Your Modules
  • The INSTALL File
  • Describing Any Dependencies
  • The ChangeLog File
  • Packaging the Module For Distribution
Appendix A: For More Information
Appendix B: Installing Perl
Errata  
The following typos have been found in the book. Thanks to Syunji Mishima-san and Tom Grydeland. If you have found any problems, please send me a message. Thanks.

Page 29 Code example
The dashes in the sub1.pl script run together. The last print statement really should appear as follows: 

                print "-- Inside my_subroutine -- \n";

Page 30 Code output
The code output has the same dash issue. It should appear as: 

                -- Inside my_subroutine --

Page 31 Second paragraph
In my effort to briefly explain local and my, I ended up making things more confusing. The second paragraph mentions local making local variables. Of course, it does not. Further down in the page, the description clarifies matters.

Page 43 Top of page
The parenthesis should close at the end of the first (partial) sentence, not at the end of the second sentence.

Page 44, second listing from bottom of page
The following line has a typo: 

                $keys = keys( %$has_reference );

This should really be %$hash_reference: 

                $keys = keys( %$hash_reference );

Page 185 Table 7-1
The entry reading Win32::Win32 is incorrect. It should read just Win32.

Page 208 Perl Modules and Functions Introduced In This Chapter
Win 32::Internet should really be Win32::Internet (with no space).

Page 303 stricts2.pl script
While the MySub bareword will pass the use stricts test, it's not a very good example, as $sub_ref2 contains the return value from the print in MySub; most likely '1'. This is not something likely to be useful as a subroutine reference.

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Copyright © 2007 Eric Foster-Johnson, including all photos. Book covers used with permission.