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Perl

    Perl Editor's Picks

    • How to Write Perl Script

      Perl scripts are very common in the programming world, especially for programs that must manage large amounts of text, such as indexers. Perl scripts can be very easy or very difficult depending on what your goals are. For example, they can be developed to carry out specific tasks such as renaming or deleting files. Scripts that use... more »

    • How to Generate a Random Password

      Developing passwords for a large number of users is a less daunting task if a random password generator is utilized. Passwords can include alphanumerical characters, as well as symbols, and be as lengthy as the developer wishes. Randomly generated passwords are typically issued as a default for new users of an application. A Perl... more »

    • How to Convert Flat Files to XML

      To convert a flat file to XML it is necessary for the structure of the file to include data separated by specific delimiters. Since flat files normally serve as storage bins for logically sequenced information, the conversion to XML is quite simple. There are two ways to complete this task: (1) Open the flat file and fill in the XML... more »

    • How to Set Up Forms Authentication

      Let's say you have a website whose information is reserved for only certain individuals, and you do not want just anyone getting access. One way to prevent them from entering the restricted area is to use forms authentication. This typically involves setting up a login page where users must enter a password for access. This article... more »

    • How Does Web Hosting Work?

      Running a website requires a web host provider. Websites are, in a sense, like pieces of virtual real estate. In order to set one up, you need a place, an address and a platform on which to build the site. Web hosting providers are like the real estate agents of the online environment.

      Typically, web space is rented, either on a... more »

    Perl Quick Guides

    Perl Articles

    • How to Learn Perl

      Perl is a popular computer programming language used for a variety of applications--including system administration and CGI programming on the... more »

    • How to Become a Perl Programmer

      Perl is a magnificent tool for an Internet programmer, ranking up there with PHP and DHTML. Its text manipulation assets make it ideal for many... more »

    • How to Use References in Perl

      Perl 5 added the ability to manage complicated data in Perl. References essentially point to another data set without having to write out the... more »

    • How to Write Apache Modules With Perl

      The Apache web server is designed with a tremendous amount of flexibility. One of its greatest capabilities allows users to write their own Apache... more »

    • How to Write Portable Perl Code

      Writing portable Perl code has plenty of advantages. One main advantage is that you can write it once and run it on any platform. Therefore, the... more »

    Wikipedia

    Perl

    | turing-complete Yes
    | typing Dynamic
    | influenced_by AWK, Smalltalk 80, Lisp, C, C++, sed, Unix shell, influenced [[Python (programming language)|Python, PHP, Ruby, ECMAScript, Dao, Windows PowerShell, JavaScript, programming_language [[C (programming language)|C
    | operating_system license [[GNU General Public License, Artistic License
    | website http://www.perl.org/
    }}

    Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall, a linguist working as a systems administrator for NASA, in 1987, as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular amongst programmers. Larry Wall continues to oversee development of the core language, and its upcoming version, Perl 6.

    Perl borrows features from other programming languages including C, shell scripting (sh), AWK, and sed."perltimeline"> The language provides powerful text processing facilities without the arbitrary data length limits of many contemporary Unix tools,"programmingperl"> facilitating easy manipulation of text files. It is also used for graphics programming, system administration, network programming, applications that require database access and CGI programming on the Web. Perl is nicknamed "the Swiss Army chainsaw of programming languages" due to its flexibility and adaptability.

    History

    Early Perl Versions

    Larry Wall began work on Perl in 1987, while working as a programmer at Unisys,"larry-wall-snippet"> and released version 1.0 to the comp.sources.misc newsgroup on December 18, 1987. The language expanded rapidly over the next few years.

    Perl 2, released in 1988, featured a better regular expression engine. Perl 3, released in 1989, added support for binary data streams.

    read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl

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