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Perl @ Web Programming
Programming Shed : Programmer Store & Resources |
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Perl Index - Perl Book :
CGI Programming 101
by Jacqueline D. Hamilton Paperback: 224 pages Dimensions (in inches): 0.47 x 8.96 x 7.04 Publisher: CGI101.com ISBN: 0966942604; (February 1, 2000) CGI Programming 101: Programming Perl for the World Wide Web is a concise presentation of the key elements of Perl CGI, which makes it perfect for programmers who are under the gun. If you need to get up to speed on text strings, for example, you can read that chapter and be a pro within about 10 minutes. Form processing is addressed early on, followed by searching and sorting techniques, illustrations of how to use server-side includes (SSI), and other critical issues. There's also a chapter on using MySQL--an open-source SQL database. In general, if you want to get the most out of this book, you'll be better off having some programming experience, be it in BASIC or C++. The only element missing from this introductory course is an appendix containing Perl's reserved characters, operators, and functions; instead, this material is presented throughout the book. But CGI Programming 101 is still one of the most efficient ways to get up to speed with Perl CGI. --Stephen W. Plain Topics covered: Perl variables, CGI environment variables, form processing, data file I/O, searching/sorting, server-side includes (SSI), random number generation, strings, date and time manipulation, HTTP cookies, e-mail processing, securing scripts, Perl modules, database programming, and custom Perl modules. Book Description: CGI Programming 101 takes you from the absolute basics of writing CGIs, to advanced topics such as database interaction and using modules. The book includes: • The Basics: where to write your scripts; how to upload them and set file permissions; how to run them • How to decode form data and save it to a file or e-mail it to yourself • How to create, read, write, and search data files • How to use Server-Side Includes to add dynamic content to your web page, plus a complete list of Apache SSI directives (and examples of their use) • How to use random numbers for rotating banner ads and random image pickers • How to format strings, dates, and times, and how to create countdown clocks • How to redirect visitors to another site • How to write secure scripts • How to use cookies • How to extend your programs by using modules like CGI.pm and GD.pm • How to create a MySQL database, and write scripts that interact with databases using the DBI module Several Appendices are also included: • A list of online resources, for more information about Perl and CGI, and where to look for CGI jobs • A Unix tutorial, with examples and information on basic shell commands • A Password tutorial that shows you how to password-protect your web site About the Author: Jackie Hamilton has been programming Perl since the "early" days of the web (since 1992). She's tackled CGI projects for many companies, including Texas Metronet, Tenagra, Cybersight, GTE, EDS, and Texas Instruments, to name a few. She's currently the webmaster for Steve Jackson Games. Customer Reviews Reviewer: b_rabin from Detroit, MI I have only some basic programming experience. I wanted to go beyond HTML and bought some books including Perl & CGI for the WWW by Elizabeth Castro. CGI 101 does not waste any time getting you started. But the pace remains easy and steady. This book teaches with examples. The author does not explain all the theory behind Perl and the example scripts. But the examples are kept very simple and illustrate their point really well. Sometimes I did wish for a little more explanation of certain lines in the example scripts. But the author does not attempt to force too much on you all at once. Advanced topics are introduced by going back and applying them into the earlier basic scripts really beautifully. What's special about this book is that it keeps things so simple that you will just read and go "Aha! So that's how they do it." You will want to sit down and try out the examples straightaway. I was pleased to find out that this little book covers almost all the things you may want to do on your website including connecting and using databases. For a programming book I really enjoyed reading this one! Definitely worth more than the low price. Reviewer: sherzodr from Mount Pleasant, MI United States Although this book is only 224 pages, it is supplied with lots of(believe me, with lots of) useful information that other books out there lack. At the same time, I wouldn't call it an ideal CGI book for the reasons that I'll get into below. My first CGI book was Elizabeth Castro's quick start guide, which does a good job on regex(very good job on regex) and other "getting started" stuff; better than this book's coverage. But Jacqueline gets as deep as making use of perl modules, and creating those of your own. Even introduces mySql database manipulation with DBI, which I found very usefull. List of SSI elements in Chapter 9 is definitely worth the praise. The whole beauty of perl's taint checking is also explained thoroughly. The book doesn't cover the Formatting capabilities of perl in details, but still it's more detailed than that of Elizabeth Castro's. Although CGI PROGRAMMING 101 does supply the reader with enormous useful information, in some cases I felt that I needed a little more detailed explanation of the topic. Especially her examples of using DBI and GD were lack of sufficient explanation (of course all the codes worked fine). There's a section called object orientedness(Chp 17), but don't expect much. There's nothing much to discover in there if you're concerned with OOP(except the phrase. "Object Oriented" in case you've never heard it). If you are a little bit familiar with CGI/Perl or came from a programming background such as C, awk, seed and etc. go ahead and buy this book. If you're a novice, Elizabeth Castro's quick start guide could be a good choice (I hope). But even though you buy Elizabeth Castro's, you'll need another book after that, which probably, will be CGI PROGRAMMING 101. If CGI programming is more than your hobby. After the aforementioned books, go for Larry Wall's Camel (Programming Perl 3rd edition), which is concidered Perl's Bible (from the Perl's author). Reviewer: zakthehack from Brookline, MA United States The first 40 pages are useful to give you the sense of how CGI functionality is implemented in Perl. However by staying away from the most used standard Perl module for CGI programming (i.e. the CGI module) except for a few pages towards the end, the reader is ill served (because they have to buy a book to get the real work done). Reviewer: Stephen Ryan from Shankill, Co. Dublin Ireland i am a fairly bad perl programmer. this book has helped me write some really smart (yet easy to understand) programs which i use everyday. if you want to get to grips with perl and cgi, get your hands on this book. especially if you know nothing about perl or cgi... although i recommend php as a better language! |
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