General Development CGI and Perl Tutorials

Perl File Handling: open, read, write and close files Perl and CGI
This article describes the facilities provided for Perl file handling.

PERL and CGI Tutorial
In this tutorial we are going to learn PERL and CGI.

Genetic algorithms applied with Perl
Based on the Darwinian principle of survival of the fittest, genetic programming uses mutation and replication to produce algorithms for creating ever-improving computer programs. In this column, you'll get to know the genetic algorithm in simple terms. Ted provides Perl implementations for some specific tasks, which you can adapt for generic use. To demonstrate the genetic algorithm, Ted breeds numbers for fitness to a formula, and letters to form English words.

Cultured Perl: The elegance of JAPH
A mainstay of the Perl culture, JAPH is a short script that produces the output "Just another Perl hacker." Although written for the beginner or intermediate Perl programmer, this article examines a few simple examples of the JAPH genre that will surprise and engage even the most seasoned devotee.

Using CGI::Application
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.

Benchmarking Perl
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.

Untangling Lists and Hashes
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.

Sorting Techniques
This article is about teaching the novice programmer how to sort lists of things, while showing to the more experienced folks certain techniques and ideas that could be new to them if they are migrating from a different language.

A CGI program that prints every environment variable
This article provides a short CGI program that can print every environment variable it knows.

CGI Environmental Variables
Lists all standard environmental variables made available to CGI programs by web servers, and provides a brief explanation of each one of them.

Getting information about the user
This note describes how to get information about a remote user from within a CGI-bin script, and lists the information available.

Common Beginners Mistakes
This is a list of common mistakes that people make when writing Perl scripts and suggestions on how to fix them. Included are general help tips on how to debug - very important particularly for beginners at programming.

Common Server Errors and Messages
Find out what those server response codes like 401, 404, 500 mean. It can help you troubleshoot minor problems - knowing these are a must if you'll be working on programs that run on a server.

Perl 101 (Part 5) - Sub-Zero Code
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.

Understanding of Perl Data Types
This tutorial describes: *Three built-in data types: scalars, arrays, and associative arrays. * How to construct scalar objects. * How scalar objects are interpreted in operations. * How to construct list objects.