Programming Perl, 4th Edition

Porter Efficiency

• Wave a handsome tip under his nose.

• Avoid functions that aren’t implemented everywhere. You can use eval tests to see what’s available.

• Use the Config module or the $^O variable to find out what kind of machine you’re running on.

• Put in use v5.xx statements in to denote the Perl you need.

• Don’t use new features just to play with shiny things.

• Don’t expect native float and double to pack and unpack on foreign machines.

• Use network byte order (the “n” and “N” formats for pack) when sending binary data over the network.

• Don’t send binary data over the network. Send ASCII. Better, send UTF-8. Better yet, send money.

• Use standard or common formats, such as JSON or YAML, for language- or service-agnostic data exchange.

• Check $] or $^V to see whether the current version supports all the features you use.

• Don’t use $] or $^V. Use require or use with a version number.

• Put in the eval exec hack, even if you don’t use it, so your program will run on those few systems that have Unix-like shells but don’t recognize the #! notation.

• Put the #!/usr/bin/perl line in even if you don’t use it.

• Test for variants of Unix commands. Some find programs can’t handle the –xdev switch, for example.

• Avoid variant Unix commands if you can do it internally. Unix commands don’t work too well on MS-DOS or VMS.

• Put all your scripts and manpages into a single network filesystem that’s mounted on all your machines.

• Publish your module on CPAN. You’ll get lots of feedback if it’s not portable.

• Make it easy for people ...