![Features of Perl
• Support got High-level Data-types
dynamic list structures
associative arrays ("hashes")
strings
references (a safer, and easier to use, version of C/C++ "pointers")
• Support for Regular Expressions
sophisticated pattern-matching and replacement operations
• Automatic Memory Management
no more worrying about malloc, new, free, dispose, delete [], etc., etc.
• Extensible
OOP support (with Perl 5)
reusable code base
modular
• "Low-Level" Features
possible to interface Perl to other programming languages (C, C++, Java)
possible to embed the Perl interpreter in a program written in C
Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2620425/85/Intro-6-320.jpg)
Intro
- 1. Perl Tutorial The Practical Extraction Report Language • The premier site for Perl information is: http://www.perl.com • Everything you every wanted to know about Perl, and then some. • Perl is a creation of Larry Wall • Current stable release 5.005_03 Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.
- 2. What is Perl? • A powerful general-purpose programming language • A high-level, command-driven scripting language What is a Scripting Language? • A programmer/administrator tool designed to allow the bolting together of other software tools to solve a problem - we refer to the resulting programs as scripts • Scripts are very popular within the UNIX and Linux world • Examples of scripting languages include TCL, Python, and AppleScript (and - of course - Perl!). MS-DOS batch files are a very simple, primitive form of scripts • Scripting languages are generally interpreted, as opposed to compiled Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.
- 3. What makes Perl different? • Easy to learn - yippee! - with very good support for standard programming constructs • Very good at processing and formatting text files (the reason it was created) • Freely available, on many platforms (UNIX, Linux, Mac, PC, Irix, SunOS, Windows, NT, etc., etc.) • Strong support from the Internet developer community • Add-ons available for every conceivable usage - great support for Internet standards and protocols Why do Programmers like Perl? • Lots of reasons ... • Perl gets the job done! Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.
- 4. A Perl Story #1 • When faced with writing a particularly mundane, but highly necessary, program to process thousands of files, a programmer was faced with choosing a language • If he had had to write the program in C, he would have found an excuse not to • If he had had to write the program in C++/Java, he would still be trying to identify the best set of abstractions to implement as classes • He chose Perl, and wrote 12 lines of code in as many minutes ... Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.
- 5. What is Perl not so good at? • Writing low-level, machine dependent code, such as Device Drivers • Highly compute-intensive, mathematical programs • Highly optimised, time-critical programs (i.e., real-time, embedded) Why not use/learn Java? • Good question! After all, Java is "the programming language of the Internet" and this is an Internet course!! • More interested in learning about networking protocols, as opposed to programming languages that target the networking world • Despite what you've heard, Java is not easy to master/learn • Java is easier than C++, but that doesn't say much • Java is cool, but, Perl is cooler! Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.
- 6. Features of Perl • Support got High-level Data-types dynamic list structures associative arrays ("hashes") strings references (a safer, and easier to use, version of C/C++ "pointers") • Support for Regular Expressions sophisticated pattern-matching and replacement operations • Automatic Memory Management no more worrying about malloc, new, free, dispose, delete [], etc., etc. • Extensible OOP support (with Perl 5) reusable code base modular • "Low-Level" Features possible to interface Perl to other programming languages (C, C++, Java) possible to embed the Perl interpreter in a program written in C Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.
- 7. Features of Perl (continued) • Some Controversial Features "loose" typing and declarations (no need to pre-define variables) "There's more than one way to do it" performance can be poor (due to it's interpreted nature) "real" computer scientists tend to view Perl with disdain Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.
- 8. Perl Documentation • I recommend a couple of textbooks on the Booklist as found on the http://elmo.itcarlow.ie website • Every Perl distribution comes with complete on-line documentation • On Linux, the "man perl" command introduces the documentation available • The on-line reference material is to be regarded as the ultimate authority on what your distribution of Perl supports Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.
- 9. A Perl Story #2 • A University in the States runs a programming challenge each year • The first year it ran, a student using Perl won, completing the challenge in about half the time of any other student (all using more traditional programming languages) • In all subsequent years, Perl programmers have been banned from the competition • The winner from the first year still isn't quite sure what to do with his prize - a copy of "Microsoft Visual C++" Copyright (c) 1999 by Paul Barry, IT Carlow, Kilkenny Road, Carlow, Ireland. All Rights Reserved.