book

Mastering Perl

by brian d foy

July 2007

Beginner

342 pages

8h 30m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

Read now

Unlock full access

Structure of This BookConventions Used in This BookUsing Code ExamplesSafari® EnabledComments and QuestionsAcknowledgments
What It Means to Be a MasterWho Should Read This BookHow to Read This BookWhat Should You Know Already?What I CoverWhat I Don’t Cover
References to Regular Expressions(?imsx-imsx:PATTERN)References As ArgumentsNoncapturing Grouping, (?:PATTERN)Readable Regexes, /x and (?#...)Global MatchingGlobal Match AnchorsLookaroundsLookahead Assertions, (?=PATTERN) and (?!PATTERN)Positive lookahead assertionsNegative lookahead assertionsLookbehind Assertions, (?<!PATTERN) and (?<=PATTERN)Deciphering Regular ExpressionsFinal ThoughtsSummaryFurther Reading
Bad Data Can Ruin Your DayTaint CheckingWarnings Instead of Fatal ErrorsAutomatic Taint Modemod_perlTainted DataSide Effects of Taint CheckingUntainting DataIO::Handle::untaintHash KeysChoosing Untainted Data with Tainted DataList Forms of system and execThree-Argument opensysopenLimit Special PrivilegesSummaryFurther Reading
Before You Waste Too Much TimeThe Best Debugger in the WorldDoing Whatever I WantProgram TracingSafely Changing ModulesWrapping Subroutinesperl5db.plAlternative DebuggersUsing a Different Debugger with -DDevel::ptkdbDevel::ebugOther DebuggersEPICKomodoAffrusSummaryFurther Reading
Finding the CulpritThe General ApproachProfiling DBIOther DBI::Profile ReportsMaking It Even EasierSwitching DatabasesDevel::DProfWriting My Own ProfilerDevel::LineCounterProfiling Test SuitesDevel::CoverSummaryFurther Reading
Benchmarking TheoryBenchmarking TimeComparing CodeDon’t Turn Off Your Thinking CapMemory UseThe perlbench ToolSummaryFurther Reading

Good StyleperltidyDe-ObfuscationDe-Encoding Hidden SourceUnparsing Code with B::DeparsePerl::CriticCreating My Own Perl::Critic PolicySummaryFurther Reading
Package and Lexical VariablesGetting the Package VersionThe Symbol TableTypeglobsAliasingFilehandle Arguments in Older CodeNaming Anonymous SubroutinesSummaryFurther Reading
Subroutines As DataCreating and Replacing Named SubroutinesSymbolic ReferencesIterating Through Subroutine ListsProcessing PipelinesMethod ListsSubroutines As ArgumentsAutoloaded MethodsHashes As ObjectsAutoSplitSummaryFurther Reading
Choosing the Right SolutionSending Patches to the AuthorLocal PatchesTaking over a ModuleForkingStart Over on My OwnReplacing Module PartsSubclassingAn ExtUtils::MakeMaker ExampleOther ExamplesWrapping SubroutinesSummaryFurther Reading
Things Not to DoCode in a Separate FileBetter WaysEnvironment VariablesSpecial Environment VariablesTurning on Extra OutputCommand-Line SwitchesThe -s SwitchGetopt ModulesGetopt::StdGetopt::LongConfiguration FilesConfigReader::SimpleConfig::IniFilesConfig::ScopedAppConfigOther Configuration FormatsScripts with a Different NameInteractive and Noninteractive Programsperl’s ConfigDifferent Operating SystemsSummaryFurther Reading
Perl Error BasicsOperating System ErrorsChild Process ErrorsErrors Specific to the Operating SystemReporting Module ErrorsSeparation of ConcernsExceptionsevalMultiple Levels of diedie with a ReferencePropagating Objects with dieFatalSummaryFurther Reading
Recording Errors and Other InformationLog4perlConfiguring Log4perlPersistent LoggingOther Log::Log4perl FeaturesSummaryFurther Reading
Flat FilespackData::DumperSimilar ModulesYAMLStorableFreezing DataDBM FilesdbmopenDBM::DeepSummaryFurther Reading
The Pod FormatDirectivesBody ElementsMultiline CommentsTranslating PodPod TranslatorsPod::Perldoc::ToTocPod::SimpleSubclassing Pod::SimplePod in Your Web ServerTesting PodChecking PodPod CoverageHiding and Ignoring FunctionsSummaryFurther Reading
Binary NumbersWriting in BinaryBit OperatorsUnary NOT, ~Bitwise AND, &Binary OR, |Exclusive OR, ^Left << and right >> shift operatorsBit VectorsThe vec FunctionBit String StorageStoring DNAKeeping Track of ThingsSummaryFurther Reading
They Look Like Normal VariablesAt the User LevelBehind the CurtainScalarsTie::CycleBounded IntegersSelf-Destructing ValuesArraysReinventing ArraysSomething a Bit More RealisticHashesFilehandlesSummaryFurther Reading
The main ThingBacking UpWho’s Calling?Testing the ProgramCreating the Program DistributionAdding to the ScriptDistributing the ProgramsSummaryFurther Reading
Perl BooksNon-Perl Books
My Philosophy of Problem-SolvingMy Method

Content preview from Mastering Perl

Preface

Mastering Perl is the third book in the series starting with Learning Perl, which taught you the basics of Perl syntax, progressing to Intermediate Perl, which taught you how to create reusable Perl software, and finally this book, which pulls everything together to show you how to bend Perl to your will. This isn’t a collection of clever tricks, but a way of thinking about Perl programming so you integrate the real-life problems of debugging, maintenance, configuration, and other tasks you’ll encounter as a working programmer. This book starts you on your path to becoming the person with the answers, and, failing that, the person who knows how to find the answers or discover the problem.

Structure of This Book

Chapter 1, Introduction: Becoming a Master: An introduction to the scope and intent of this book.
Chapter 2, Advanced Regular Expressions: More regular expression features, including global matches, lookarounds, readable regexes, and regex debugging.
Chapter 3, Secure Programming Techniques: Avoid some common programing problems with the techniques in this chapter, which covers taint checking and gotchas.
Chapter 4, Debugging Perl: A little bit about the Perl debugger, writing your own debugger, and using the debuggers others wrote.
Chapter 5, Profiling Perl: Before you set out to improve your Perl program, find out where you should concentrate your efforts.
Chapter 6, Benchmarking Perl: Figure out which implementations do better on time, memory, and other metrics, along with cautions ...