Perl:  Advanced

Course Description

Overview:   Perl: Advanced is designed to introduce intermediate programmers to general Perl programming practices and problem solving, as well as issues specific to CGI programming and Web application development.

Prerequisites:   To ensure your success, we recommend you first take the following Element K course or have equivalent knowledge:

• Perl/CGI: Introduction:

  Students will be expected to know:

• Basic HTML
• Basic CGI concepts
• Basic Perl syntax

Performance-Based Objectives

Lesson objectives help students become comfortable with the course, and also provide a means to evaluate learning. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Write Perl code that is easy to use, easy to read, and easy to extend.
• Take advantage to the rich context created by other Perl programmers and the free software they have published.
• Use advanced features of the Perl programming language to save time and provide solutions to difficult problems.
• Interact with the server, manipulate files and directories, and interact with external programs on the server.
• Use SQL databases from your Perl scripts to save programming time and increase performance.
• Use cookies for sessions and authentication.
• Work with a range of E-commerce solutions, from simple order forms to shopping baskets with realtime credit card transactions.
• Write Perl scripts that send e-mail.
• Use HTML templates to enhance the integration of script generated content with the design of pages in which it appears.
• Reuse your Perl code by creating subroutines and modules.
• Create Perl programs that work well in a command line environment.
• Find and solve tricky and elusive bugs in your script.
• Extend the capabilities of your scripts by running other programs.
• Write Perl scripts that can be run on any platform.

Course Content

Lesson 1: Literate Programming for Perl

 Topic 1A: Literate Programming

Topic 1B: Comments

Topic 1C: Code Formatting Conventions

Topic 1D: Naming Variables & Subroutines

Topic 1E: Documentation

Lesson 2: Using Perl Modules

Topic 2A: CPAN: Comprehensive Perl Archive Network

Topic 2B: Using Perl Modules

Topic 2C: Objects & Methods

Topic 2D: Modules Managers

Topic 2E: Installing Modules Manually

Lesson 3: References & Nested Variables

Topic 3A: Introduction to References

Topic 3B: Creating References

Topic 3C: Values for References

Lesson 4: Useful Perl Functions

Topic 4A: Status Notification Functions

Topic 4B: Evaluation of Perl Code

Topic 4C: Linear Text Processing Functions

Topic 4D: Array Processing Functions

Topic 4E: Hashes

Topic 4F: Random Number Generation

Lesson 5: Advanced Command Structure Topics

Topic 5A: Next & Last in Loops

Topic 5B: Establishing Default Input with $_

Topic 5C: Advanced Comparison Operations

Lesson 6: File & Directory Manipulation for Perl

Topic 6A: File & Directory Manipulation Operators

Topic 6B: Perl File & Directory Functions

Topic 6C: Locking a File

Lesson 7: Database Concepts

Topic 7A: Database Products

Topic 7B: Basic Database Concepts

Topic 7C: Perl Interface & Drivers

Topic 7D: Using SQL in Your Script

Topic 7E: Database Design

Topic 7F: Advanced SQL

Lesson 8: Web Concepts

Topic 8A: CGI.pm

Topic 8B: Sessions & Cookies

Lesson 9: E-Commerce

Topic 9A: Online Order Forms

Topic 9B: Shopping Basket

Topic 9C: Downloading Orders

Topic 9D: Realtime Credit Card Processing

Lesson 10: Using Perl to Send E-mail

Topic 10A: Using a Mail Server from Perl

Topic 10B: Net::SMTP

Topic 10C: Automated E-mail Tasks

Lesson 11: Using HTML Templates

Topic 11A: Simple HTML Templates

Topic 11B: HTML::Template

Lesson 12: Creating Subroutines

Topic 12A: Strategies for Code Re-use

Topic 12B: Subroutines

Topic 12C: Scope

Topic 12D: Passing Parameters to Subroutines

Topic 12E: Returning Results from Subroutines

Topic 12F: Recursive Subroutines

Lesson 13: Perl Libraries & Modules

Topic 13A: Perl Libraries

Topic 13B: Modules

Lesson 14: Command Line Environment for Perl

Topic 14A: Standardizing Command-line Syntax

Topic 14B: Perl Flags

Lesson 15: Debugging Code

Topic 15A: Getting Better Debugging Information

Topic 15B: Perl Debugger

Lesson 16: Interacting with Outside Programs

Topic 16A: Invoking Operating System Commands

Topic 16B: Pipes

Lesson 17: Platform Considerations

Topic 17A: Installing Perl

Topic 17B: Cross-platform Issues

Appendix A: Perl Resources & Help

Online Documentation

Books

Web Sites

Mailing Lists

Appendix B: Installing Perl

Platforms