Fundamentals of Perl/CGI Programming

Introduction to Perl · Origin and Design Goals of Perl · Overview of Perl Features · Getting and Installing Perl · Accessing Documentation via perldoc · HTML-Format Reference Documentation · Perl Strengths and Limitations Getting Started With Perl · Explicit Invocation of the Perl Interpreter     - Running Perl on UNIX vs. Windows     - Running Perl from the Command Line     - Using Command Line Options     - Using Debug Mode · Implicit Invocation of the Perl Interpreter · Running and Debugging Perl Scripts · Simple and Compound Statements · Fundamental Input Techniques · Using the print Function to Generate Standard Output Using Variables · Scalar Variables · Introduction to Standard Data Types · Retrieving Standard Input Using the Default Variable $_ · Assigning Strings and Numbers to Scalar Variables · Declaring Constants for Persistent Values · Using strict to Declare Variables Pattern Matching in Perl · Regular Expressions in Perl · Using Pattern Matching Operators · Altering Data with Substitutions in Regular Expressions · Using Backreferences to Capture Data from Regular Expression Matching · Global and Case-Insensitive Matches · Altering Data with Character Translation · Using Variables in Patterns Operators · Introduction to Fundamental Operators · Operator Precedence and Associativity · Using the Ternary Operator ?: as a Shortcut for the if Statement · Using <FILEHANDLE> and <> File I/O Operators for Standard Input/Output · Using the Shortcut Operators +=, -=, *=, /= String Manipulation · String Comparison · String Relations · Concatenation · Substring Manipulation · Using chomp and chop to Eliminate EOL Characters · Escape Characters for Formatting · String Manipulation Functions Flow Control: Conditional Statements and Looping · Conditional Expressions and Logical Operators · if/else/elsif and unless · Constructing switch/case Equivalent Expressions · while Loops and do Loops · for and foreach Loops · Labels · Altering Program Flow with next, last, and redo · Trapping Errors with the eval Function · Terminating a Script with exit Subroutines and Parameters · Simplifying Scripts with Subroutines · Defining and Calling a Subroutine · Passing Arguments by Value · Passing Arguments by Reference · Using return to Return a Value · Controlling Variable Scope using my and local Keywords Arrays and Hashes · Defining Numeric Index Arrays · Defining Associative Arrays · Sorting Arrays with the sort Function · Adding and Deleting Items Using push, pop, shift, and unshift · Using slice, splice, and reverse · Other Array Manipulation Techniques · Looping through an Array · Merging Arrays · Introduction to Hashes · Preallocating Memory to Optimize Hash Performance Packages and Modules · The Power of Packages and Modules · Introduction to Standard Modules · Where to Find Modules on the Internet · Installing a Module on UNIX or Windows · Creating Packages for Portability · Using Packages to Create Isolated Namespaces and to Separate Code File Manipulation · Using open and close · Difference Between print and write · Reading and Writing Arrays · Directory Manipulation Using opendir, closedir, readdir, chdir, mkdir and rmdir Input/Output Processing · Parsing Input · Using Standard Input, Standard Output, and Standard Error · String and Field Processing · Using Streams and Pipes · Using die to Quit with an Error · Redirecting Standard Output and Standard Error to a File · Getting Standard Input from a File Implementing Command Line Arguments · Reading Command Line Arguments from @ARGV · Manipulating Positional Parameters with push, pop, shift · Processing Command Line Options with getopt or getopts · Analyzing Command Line Argument Values with the Getopt::Std and Getopt::Long Modules · Reserved Variables · Manipulating Identifiable Options Using GetOptions Perl Report Formatting · Defining Report Formats · Justifying Text (Left, Right, Center) · Using write to Generate Reports · Defining here Documents for Report Customization · Creating Report Headers · Using Built-in Variables to Control Report Appearance · Printing Line Numbers on a Report · Formatting Multi-Line Output · Writing Formatted Text to a File Debugging In Perl · Using the Built-in Perl Debugger · Starting the Debugger · Debugger Command Syntax · Checking for Script Syntax Errors · Solving Compile-Time Errors · Single-Stepping through a Script · Executing to Breakpoints · Setting Global Watches · Printing Values of Variables · Listing All Variables Used in the Script · Using strict Error Checking · Quitting the Debugger Web Architecture and CGI Scripting Overview · Evolution of the World Wide Web · The WWW as a Computing Platform · Perl's Role in Distributed Web Applications · Client and Server Interaction · How Server-Side CGI Scripts Work · Differences between Client-Side and Server-Side Script Environment · Strengths and Weaknesses of Web Programming Languages · Maintaining State in the Web Architecture Using Cookies and Query String Variables · Using Environment Variables to Control CGI Scripts CGI Scripting with Perl · Communicating with the Web Server · Perl CGI Script Instantiation and Invocation · Generating Output for the Browser · Understanding the Differences between the Get and Post Methods in an HTML Form · Using Form Data Validation to Check Data Values · Storing and Retrieving Form Data · Using Cookies and Query String Variables to Maintain State Across Invocations · CGI Security Mechanisms Using the CGI.pm Module · Overview of HTML Generation Using CGI.pm · Creating HTML Using CGI.pm Methods · Using HTML Elements Built into the CGI.pm Module     - Headers     - Hyperlinks     - Images     - Forms     - Form Elements · Retrieving Form Data Using the param Method Using the DBI Module · Fundamental Characteristics of Relational Databases · Using DBI and DBD to Connect to a Database · Fundamental Data Storage and Retrieval Strategies · Using SQL Statements to Communicate with the Database · DBI Query Syntax · Using DBI Methods to Retrieve Database Information · Initializing and Connecting to a Database · Preparing a SQL Statement · Executing the SQL Statement Against the Database · Fetching the Result Set to Achieve Workable Data in the Perl Script · Useful Utilities to Aid in Database Development · Using Other Modules to Access Databases on the Web Web Programming Optimization Using ModPerl · Overview of Apache Web Server Functionality · Comparing the Speed of CGI Scripting vs. ModPerl · Configuring Apache with Perl and ModPerl · Apache Strengths and Limitations · Using the Apache::Registry Module · Extending and Enhancing Apache Functionality · Using High-Level Packages to Help Develop Scalable and Easily Managed Web Applications.

Contact us to discover how our client-focused Perl/CGI training and consulting solutions impact your bottom-line.