CGI Programming with Perl, 2nd Edition

Chapter 16. Guidelines for Better CGI Applications

Like many forms of programming, CGI programming with Perl is a balance between art and science. As an art form, Perl is such a uniquely expressive language that you have the freedom to accomplish the same tasks in many different ways. However, thinking of Perl as a science, you will want to choose methods based on balancing such real-world requirements as performance, security, and team development.

Furthermore, any program that is useful in one context will generally evolve to be useful in others. This requires that a program be flexible and have the capability to grow. Unfortunately, programs do not grow by themselves. They require the dreaded m-word: maintenance. Maintenance is usually difficult, but it can be made easier by taking steps to make sure that the code is readable as well as flexible.

Because of these concerns, seasoned CGI developers typically end up sticking to a set of guidelines that help their code live up to these expectations. In a corporate setting, these guidelines tend to become the standards through which teams of developers understand how to easily read the code that their neighbors produce.

Architectural Guidelines

The first step in learning any language consists of being able to accomplish small tasks without the compiler complaining. However, larger programs are made up of more than just syntactically correct statements. The details of how the small parts of a program fit together is just as important ...