Commit | Line | Data |
68dc0745 |
1 | =head1 NAME |
2 | |
d92eb7b0 |
3 | perlfaq - frequently asked questions about Perl ($Date: 1999/05/23 20:38:02 $) |
68dc0745 |
4 | |
5 | =head1 DESCRIPTION |
6 | |
40d4dc3e |
7 | The perlfaq is structured into the following documents: |
68dc0745 |
8 | |
68dc0745 |
9 | |
40d4dc3e |
10 | =head2 perlfaq: Structural overview of the FAQ. |
68dc0745 |
11 | |
12 | This document. |
13 | |
40d4dc3e |
14 | =head2 L<perlfaq1>: General Questions About Perl |
68dc0745 |
15 | |
16 | Very general, high-level information about Perl. |
17 | |
65acb1b1 |
18 | =over 4 |
19 | |
40d4dc3e |
20 | =item * |
21 | |
22 | What is Perl? |
23 | |
24 | =item * |
25 | |
26 | Who supports Perl? Who develops it? Why is it free? |
27 | |
28 | =item * |
29 | |
30 | Which version of Perl should I use? |
31 | |
32 | =item * |
33 | |
34 | What are perl4 and perl5? |
35 | |
36 | =item * |
37 | |
38 | What is perl6? |
65acb1b1 |
39 | |
40d4dc3e |
40 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
41 | |
40d4dc3e |
42 | How stable is Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
43 | |
40d4dc3e |
44 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
45 | |
40d4dc3e |
46 | Is Perl difficult to learn? |
65acb1b1 |
47 | |
40d4dc3e |
48 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
49 | |
40d4dc3e |
50 | How does Perl compare with other languages like Java, Python, REXX, Scheme, or Tcl? |
65acb1b1 |
51 | |
40d4dc3e |
52 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
53 | |
40d4dc3e |
54 | Can I do [task] in Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
55 | |
40d4dc3e |
56 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
57 | |
40d4dc3e |
58 | When shouldn't I program in Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
59 | |
40d4dc3e |
60 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
61 | |
40d4dc3e |
62 | What's the difference between "perl" and "Perl"? |
65acb1b1 |
63 | |
40d4dc3e |
64 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
65 | |
40d4dc3e |
66 | Is it a Perl program or a Perl script? |
67 | |
68 | =item * |
69 | |
70 | What is a JAPH? |
71 | |
72 | =item * |
73 | |
74 | Where can I get a list of Larry Wall witticisms? |
75 | |
76 | =item * |
77 | |
78 | How can I convince my sysadmin/supervisor/employees to use version 5/5.005/Perl instead of some other language? |
65acb1b1 |
79 | |
80 | =back |
81 | |
82 | |
40d4dc3e |
83 | =head2 L<perlfaq2>: Obtaining and Learning about Perl |
68dc0745 |
84 | |
92c2ed05 |
85 | Where to find source and documentation to Perl, support, |
68dc0745 |
86 | and related matters. |
87 | |
65acb1b1 |
88 | =over 4 |
89 | |
40d4dc3e |
90 | =item * |
91 | |
92 | What machines support Perl? Where do I get it? |
93 | |
94 | =item * |
95 | |
96 | How can I get a binary version of Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
97 | |
40d4dc3e |
98 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
99 | |
40d4dc3e |
100 | I don't have a C compiler on my system. How can I compile perl? |
65acb1b1 |
101 | |
40d4dc3e |
102 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
103 | |
40d4dc3e |
104 | I copied the Perl binary from one machine to another, but scripts don't work. |
65acb1b1 |
105 | |
40d4dc3e |
106 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
107 | |
40d4dc3e |
108 | I grabbed the sources and tried to compile but gdbm/dynamic loading/malloc/linking/... failed. How do I make it work? |
65acb1b1 |
109 | |
40d4dc3e |
110 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
111 | |
40d4dc3e |
112 | What modules and extensions are available for Perl? What is CPAN? What does CPAN/src/... mean? |
65acb1b1 |
113 | |
40d4dc3e |
114 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
115 | |
40d4dc3e |
116 | Is there an ISO or ANSI certified version of Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
117 | |
40d4dc3e |
118 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
119 | |
40d4dc3e |
120 | Where can I get information on Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
121 | |
40d4dc3e |
122 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
123 | |
40d4dc3e |
124 | What are the Perl newsgroups on Usenet? Where do I post questions? |
65acb1b1 |
125 | |
40d4dc3e |
126 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
127 | |
40d4dc3e |
128 | Where should I post source code? |
65acb1b1 |
129 | |
40d4dc3e |
130 | =item * |
131 | |
132 | Perl Books |
133 | |
134 | =item * |
135 | |
136 | Perl in Magazines |
137 | |
138 | =item * |
139 | |
140 | Perl on the Net: FTP and WWW Access |
141 | |
142 | =item * |
143 | |
144 | What mailing lists are there for Perl? |
145 | |
146 | =item * |
147 | |
148 | Archives of comp.lang.perl.misc |
149 | |
150 | =item * |
151 | |
152 | Where can I buy a commercial version of Perl? |
153 | |
154 | =item * |
155 | |
156 | Where do I send bug reports? |
157 | |
158 | =item * |
159 | |
160 | What is perl.com? Perl Mongers? pm.org? perl.org? |
65acb1b1 |
161 | |
162 | =back |
163 | |
164 | |
40d4dc3e |
165 | =head2 L<perlfaq3>: Programming Tools |
68dc0745 |
166 | |
167 | Programmer tools and programming support. |
168 | |
65acb1b1 |
169 | =over 4 |
170 | |
40d4dc3e |
171 | =item * |
172 | |
173 | How do I do (anything)? |
174 | |
175 | =item * |
176 | |
177 | How can I use Perl interactively? |
178 | |
179 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
180 | |
40d4dc3e |
181 | Is there a Perl shell? |
65acb1b1 |
182 | |
40d4dc3e |
183 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
184 | |
40d4dc3e |
185 | How do I debug my Perl programs? |
65acb1b1 |
186 | |
40d4dc3e |
187 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
188 | |
40d4dc3e |
189 | How do I profile my Perl programs? |
65acb1b1 |
190 | |
40d4dc3e |
191 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
192 | |
40d4dc3e |
193 | How do I cross-reference my Perl programs? |
65acb1b1 |
194 | |
40d4dc3e |
195 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
196 | |
40d4dc3e |
197 | Is there a pretty-printer (formatter) for Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
198 | |
40d4dc3e |
199 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
200 | |
40d4dc3e |
201 | Is there a ctags for Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
202 | |
40d4dc3e |
203 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
204 | |
40d4dc3e |
205 | Is there an IDE or Windows Perl Editor? |
65acb1b1 |
206 | |
40d4dc3e |
207 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
208 | |
40d4dc3e |
209 | Where can I get Perl macros for vi? |
65acb1b1 |
210 | |
40d4dc3e |
211 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
212 | |
40d4dc3e |
213 | Where can I get perl-mode for emacs? |
65acb1b1 |
214 | |
40d4dc3e |
215 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
216 | |
40d4dc3e |
217 | How can I use curses with Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
218 | |
40d4dc3e |
219 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
220 | |
40d4dc3e |
221 | How can I use X or Tk with Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
222 | |
40d4dc3e |
223 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
224 | |
40d4dc3e |
225 | How can I generate simple menus without using CGI or Tk? |
65acb1b1 |
226 | |
40d4dc3e |
227 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
228 | |
40d4dc3e |
229 | What is undump? |
65acb1b1 |
230 | |
40d4dc3e |
231 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
232 | |
40d4dc3e |
233 | How can I make my Perl program run faster? |
65acb1b1 |
234 | |
40d4dc3e |
235 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
236 | |
40d4dc3e |
237 | How can I make my Perl program take less memory? |
238 | |
239 | =item * |
240 | |
241 | Is it unsafe to return a pointer to local data? |
242 | |
243 | =item * |
244 | |
245 | How can I free an array or hash so my program shrinks? |
246 | |
247 | =item * |
248 | |
249 | How can I make my CGI script more efficient? |
250 | |
251 | =item * |
252 | |
253 | How can I hide the source for my Perl program? |
254 | |
255 | =item * |
256 | |
257 | How can I compile my Perl program into byte code or C? |
258 | |
259 | =item * |
260 | |
261 | How can I compile Perl into Java? |
262 | |
263 | =item * |
264 | |
265 | How can I get C<#!perl> to work on [MS-DOS,NT,...]? |
266 | |
267 | =item * |
268 | |
269 | Can I write useful Perl programs on the command line? |
270 | |
271 | =item * |
272 | |
273 | Why don't Perl one-liners work on my DOS/Mac/VMS system? |
274 | |
275 | =item * |
276 | |
277 | Where can I learn about CGI or Web programming in Perl? |
278 | |
279 | =item * |
280 | |
281 | Where can I learn about object-oriented Perl programming? |
282 | |
283 | =item * |
284 | |
285 | Where can I learn about linking C with Perl? [h2xs, xsubpp] |
286 | |
287 | =item * |
288 | |
289 | I've read perlembed, perlguts, etc., but I can't embed perl in |
a6dd486b |
290 | my C program; what am I doing wrong? |
65acb1b1 |
291 | |
40d4dc3e |
292 | =item * |
293 | |
294 | When I tried to run my script, I got this message. What does it |
65acb1b1 |
295 | mean? |
296 | |
40d4dc3e |
297 | =item * |
298 | |
299 | What's MakeMaker? |
65acb1b1 |
300 | |
301 | =back |
302 | |
303 | |
40d4dc3e |
304 | =head2 L<perlfaq4>: Data Manipulation |
68dc0745 |
305 | |
306 | Manipulating numbers, dates, strings, arrays, hashes, and |
307 | miscellaneous data issues. |
308 | |
65acb1b1 |
309 | =over 4 |
310 | |
40d4dc3e |
311 | =item * |
312 | |
313 | Why am I getting long decimals (eg, 19.9499999999999) instead of the numbers I should be getting (eg, 19.95)? |
314 | |
315 | =item * |
316 | |
317 | Why isn't my octal data interpreted correctly? |
318 | |
319 | =item * |
320 | |
321 | Does Perl have a round() function? What about ceil() and floor()? Trig functions? |
322 | |
323 | =item * |
324 | |
325 | How do I convert bits into ints? |
326 | |
327 | =item * |
328 | |
329 | Why doesn't & work the way I want it to? |
65acb1b1 |
330 | |
40d4dc3e |
331 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
332 | |
40d4dc3e |
333 | How do I multiply matrices? |
65acb1b1 |
334 | |
40d4dc3e |
335 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
336 | |
40d4dc3e |
337 | How do I perform an operation on a series of integers? |
65acb1b1 |
338 | |
40d4dc3e |
339 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
340 | |
40d4dc3e |
341 | How can I output Roman numerals? |
65acb1b1 |
342 | |
40d4dc3e |
343 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
344 | |
40d4dc3e |
345 | Why aren't my random numbers random? |
65acb1b1 |
346 | |
40d4dc3e |
347 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
348 | |
40d4dc3e |
349 | How do I find the week-of-the-year/day-of-the-year? |
d92eb7b0 |
350 | |
40d4dc3e |
351 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
352 | |
40d4dc3e |
353 | How do I find the current century or millennium? |
65acb1b1 |
354 | |
40d4dc3e |
355 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
356 | |
40d4dc3e |
357 | How can I compare two dates and find the difference? |
65acb1b1 |
358 | |
40d4dc3e |
359 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
360 | |
40d4dc3e |
361 | How can I take a string and turn it into epoch seconds? |
65acb1b1 |
362 | |
40d4dc3e |
363 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
364 | |
40d4dc3e |
365 | How can I find the Julian Day? |
65acb1b1 |
366 | |
40d4dc3e |
367 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
368 | |
40d4dc3e |
369 | How do I find yesterday's date? |
65acb1b1 |
370 | |
40d4dc3e |
371 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
372 | |
40d4dc3e |
373 | Does Perl have a Year 2000 problem? Is Perl Y2K compliant? |
65acb1b1 |
374 | |
40d4dc3e |
375 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
376 | |
40d4dc3e |
377 | How do I validate input? |
65acb1b1 |
378 | |
40d4dc3e |
379 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
380 | |
40d4dc3e |
381 | How do I unescape a string? |
65acb1b1 |
382 | |
40d4dc3e |
383 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
384 | |
40d4dc3e |
385 | How do I remove consecutive pairs of characters? |
386 | |
387 | =item * |
388 | |
389 | How do I expand function calls in a string? |
390 | |
391 | =item * |
392 | |
393 | How do I find matching/nesting anything? |
394 | |
395 | =item * |
396 | |
397 | How do I reverse a string? |
398 | |
399 | =item * |
400 | |
401 | How do I expand tabs in a string? |
402 | |
403 | =item * |
404 | |
405 | How do I reformat a paragraph? |
406 | |
407 | =item * |
408 | |
409 | How can I access/change the first N letters of a string? |
410 | |
411 | =item * |
412 | |
413 | How do I change the Nth occurrence of something? |
414 | |
415 | =item * |
416 | |
417 | How can I count the number of occurrences of a substring within a string? |
418 | |
419 | =item * |
420 | |
421 | How do I capitalize all the words on one line? |
422 | |
423 | =item * |
424 | |
425 | How can I split a [character] delimited string except when inside |
65acb1b1 |
426 | [character]? (Comma-separated files) |
427 | |
40d4dc3e |
428 | =item * |
429 | |
430 | How do I strip blank space from the beginning/end of a string? |
431 | |
432 | =item * |
433 | |
434 | How do I pad a string with blanks or pad a number with zeroes? |
435 | |
436 | =item * |
437 | |
438 | How do I extract selected columns from a string? |
439 | |
440 | =item * |
441 | |
442 | How do I find the soundex value of a string? |
443 | |
444 | =item * |
445 | |
446 | How can I expand variables in text strings? |
447 | |
448 | =item * |
449 | |
450 | What's wrong with always quoting "$vars"? |
451 | |
452 | =item * |
453 | |
454 | Why don't my <<HERE documents work? |
455 | |
456 | =item * |
457 | |
458 | What is the difference between a list and an array? |
459 | |
460 | =item * |
461 | |
462 | What is the difference between $array[1] and @array[1]? |
463 | |
464 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
465 | |
40d4dc3e |
466 | How can I remove duplicate elements from a list or array? |
65acb1b1 |
467 | |
40d4dc3e |
468 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
469 | |
40d4dc3e |
470 | How can I tell whether a list or array contains a certain element? |
65acb1b1 |
471 | |
40d4dc3e |
472 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
473 | |
40d4dc3e |
474 | How do I compute the difference of two arrays? How do I compute the intersection of two arrays? |
65acb1b1 |
475 | |
40d4dc3e |
476 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
477 | |
40d4dc3e |
478 | How do I test whether two arrays or hashes are equal? |
65acb1b1 |
479 | |
40d4dc3e |
480 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
481 | |
40d4dc3e |
482 | How do I find the first array element for which a condition is true? |
65acb1b1 |
483 | |
40d4dc3e |
484 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
485 | |
40d4dc3e |
486 | How do I handle linked lists? |
65acb1b1 |
487 | |
40d4dc3e |
488 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
489 | |
40d4dc3e |
490 | How do I handle circular lists? |
65acb1b1 |
491 | |
40d4dc3e |
492 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
493 | |
40d4dc3e |
494 | How do I shuffle an array randomly? |
65acb1b1 |
495 | |
40d4dc3e |
496 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
497 | |
40d4dc3e |
498 | How do I process/modify each element of an array? |
65acb1b1 |
499 | |
40d4dc3e |
500 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
501 | |
40d4dc3e |
502 | How do I select a random element from an array? |
65acb1b1 |
503 | |
40d4dc3e |
504 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
505 | |
40d4dc3e |
506 | How do I permute N elements of a list? |
65acb1b1 |
507 | |
40d4dc3e |
508 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
509 | |
40d4dc3e |
510 | How do I sort an array by (anything)? |
65acb1b1 |
511 | |
40d4dc3e |
512 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
513 | |
40d4dc3e |
514 | How do I manipulate arrays of bits? |
65acb1b1 |
515 | |
40d4dc3e |
516 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
517 | |
40d4dc3e |
518 | Why does defined() return true on empty arrays and hashes? |
65acb1b1 |
519 | |
40d4dc3e |
520 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
521 | |
40d4dc3e |
522 | How do I process an entire hash? |
65acb1b1 |
523 | |
40d4dc3e |
524 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
525 | |
40d4dc3e |
526 | What happens if I add or remove keys from a hash while iterating over it? |
65acb1b1 |
527 | |
40d4dc3e |
528 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
529 | |
40d4dc3e |
530 | How do I look up a hash element by value? |
65acb1b1 |
531 | |
40d4dc3e |
532 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
533 | |
40d4dc3e |
534 | How can I know how many entries are in a hash? |
65acb1b1 |
535 | |
40d4dc3e |
536 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
537 | |
40d4dc3e |
538 | How do I sort a hash (optionally by value instead of key)? |
65acb1b1 |
539 | |
40d4dc3e |
540 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
541 | |
40d4dc3e |
542 | How can I always keep my hash sorted? |
65acb1b1 |
543 | |
40d4dc3e |
544 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
545 | |
40d4dc3e |
546 | What's the difference between "delete" and "undef" with hashes? |
65acb1b1 |
547 | |
40d4dc3e |
548 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
549 | |
40d4dc3e |
550 | Why don't my tied hashes make the defined/exists distinction? |
65acb1b1 |
551 | |
40d4dc3e |
552 | =item * |
553 | |
554 | How do I reset an each() operation part-way through? |
555 | |
556 | =item * |
557 | |
558 | How can I get the unique keys from two hashes? |
559 | |
560 | =item * |
561 | |
562 | How can I store a multidimensional array in a DBM file? |
563 | |
564 | =item * |
565 | |
566 | How can I make my hash remember the order I put elements into it? |
567 | |
568 | =item * |
569 | |
570 | Why does passing a subroutine an undefined element in a hash create it? |
571 | |
572 | =item * |
573 | |
574 | How can I make the Perl equivalent of a C structure/C++ class/hash or array of hashes or arrays? |
575 | |
576 | =item * |
577 | |
578 | How can I use a reference as a hash key? |
579 | |
580 | =item * |
581 | |
582 | How do I handle binary data correctly? |
583 | |
584 | =item * |
585 | |
586 | How do I determine whether a scalar is a number/whole/integer/float? |
587 | |
588 | =item * |
589 | |
590 | How do I keep persistent data across program calls? |
591 | |
592 | =item * |
593 | |
594 | How do I print out or copy a recursive data structure? |
595 | |
596 | =item * |
597 | |
598 | How do I define methods for every class/object? |
599 | |
600 | =item * |
601 | |
602 | How do I verify a credit card checksum? |
603 | |
604 | =item * |
605 | |
606 | How do I pack arrays of doubles or floats for XS code? |
65acb1b1 |
607 | |
608 | =back |
609 | |
610 | |
40d4dc3e |
611 | =head2 L<perlfaq5>: Files and Formats |
68dc0745 |
612 | |
613 | I/O and the "f" issues: filehandles, flushing, formats and footers. |
614 | |
65acb1b1 |
615 | =over 4 |
616 | |
40d4dc3e |
617 | =item * |
618 | |
619 | How do I flush/unbuffer an output filehandle? Why must I do this? |
620 | |
621 | =item * |
622 | |
623 | How do I change one line in a file/delete a line in a file/insert a line in the middle of a file/append to the beginning of a file? |
624 | |
625 | =item * |
626 | |
627 | How do I count the number of lines in a file? |
628 | |
629 | =item * |
630 | |
631 | How do I make a temporary file name? |
632 | |
633 | =item * |
634 | |
635 | How can I manipulate fixed-record-length files? |
636 | |
637 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
638 | |
40d4dc3e |
639 | How can I make a filehandle local to a subroutine? How do I pass filehandles between subroutines? How do I make an array of filehandles? |
65acb1b1 |
640 | |
40d4dc3e |
641 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
642 | |
40d4dc3e |
643 | How can I use a filehandle indirectly? |
65acb1b1 |
644 | |
40d4dc3e |
645 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
646 | |
40d4dc3e |
647 | How can I set up a footer format to be used with write()? |
65acb1b1 |
648 | |
40d4dc3e |
649 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
650 | |
40d4dc3e |
651 | How can I write() into a string? |
65acb1b1 |
652 | |
40d4dc3e |
653 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
654 | |
40d4dc3e |
655 | How can I output my numbers with commas added? |
65acb1b1 |
656 | |
40d4dc3e |
657 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
658 | |
40d4dc3e |
659 | How can I translate tildes (~) in a filename? |
65acb1b1 |
660 | |
40d4dc3e |
661 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
662 | |
40d4dc3e |
663 | How come when I open a file read-write it wipes it out? |
65acb1b1 |
664 | |
40d4dc3e |
665 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
666 | |
40d4dc3e |
667 | Why do I sometimes get an "Argument list too long" when I use <*>? |
65acb1b1 |
668 | |
40d4dc3e |
669 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
670 | |
40d4dc3e |
671 | Is there a leak/bug in glob()? |
65acb1b1 |
672 | |
40d4dc3e |
673 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
674 | |
40d4dc3e |
675 | How can I open a file with a leading ">" or trailing blanks? |
65acb1b1 |
676 | |
40d4dc3e |
677 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
678 | |
40d4dc3e |
679 | How can I reliably rename a file? |
65acb1b1 |
680 | |
40d4dc3e |
681 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
682 | |
40d4dc3e |
683 | How can I lock a file? |
d92eb7b0 |
684 | |
40d4dc3e |
685 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
686 | |
40d4dc3e |
687 | Why can't I just open(FH, ">file.lock")? |
65acb1b1 |
688 | |
40d4dc3e |
689 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
690 | |
40d4dc3e |
691 | I still don't get locking. I just want to increment the number in the file. How can I do this? |
65acb1b1 |
692 | |
40d4dc3e |
693 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
694 | |
f52f3be2 |
695 | All I want to do is append a small amount of text to the end of a file. Do I still have to use locking? |
05caf3a7 |
696 | |
697 | =item * |
698 | |
40d4dc3e |
699 | How do I randomly update a binary file? |
65acb1b1 |
700 | |
40d4dc3e |
701 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
702 | |
40d4dc3e |
703 | How do I get a file's timestamp in perl? |
65acb1b1 |
704 | |
40d4dc3e |
705 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
706 | |
40d4dc3e |
707 | How do I set a file's timestamp in perl? |
65acb1b1 |
708 | |
40d4dc3e |
709 | =item * |
710 | |
711 | How do I print to more than one file at once? |
712 | |
713 | =item * |
714 | |
715 | How can I read in an entire file all at once? |
716 | |
717 | =item * |
718 | |
719 | How can I read in a file by paragraphs? |
720 | |
721 | =item * |
722 | |
723 | How can I read a single character from a file? From the keyboard? |
724 | |
725 | =item * |
726 | |
727 | How can I tell whether there's a character waiting on a filehandle? |
728 | |
729 | =item * |
730 | |
731 | How do I do a C<tail -f> in perl? |
732 | |
733 | =item * |
734 | |
735 | How do I dup() a filehandle in Perl? |
736 | |
737 | =item * |
738 | |
739 | How do I close a file descriptor by number? |
740 | |
741 | =item * |
742 | |
743 | Why can't I use "C:\temp\foo" in DOS paths? What doesn't `C:\temp\foo.exe` work? |
744 | |
745 | =item * |
746 | |
747 | Why doesn't glob("*.*") get all the files? |
748 | |
749 | =item * |
750 | |
751 | Why does Perl let me delete read-only files? Why does C<-i> clobber protected files? Isn't this a bug in Perl? |
752 | |
753 | =item * |
754 | |
755 | How do I select a random line from a file? |
756 | |
757 | =item * |
758 | |
759 | Why do I get weird spaces when I print an array of lines? |
65acb1b1 |
760 | |
761 | =back |
762 | |
763 | |
40d4dc3e |
764 | =head2 L<perlfaq6>: Regexps |
68dc0745 |
765 | |
766 | Pattern matching and regular expressions. |
767 | |
65acb1b1 |
768 | =over 4 |
769 | |
40d4dc3e |
770 | =item * |
771 | |
772 | How can I hope to use regular expressions without creating illegible and unmaintainable code? |
773 | |
774 | =item * |
775 | |
776 | I'm having trouble matching over more than one line. What's wrong? |
777 | |
778 | =item * |
779 | |
780 | How can I pull out lines between two patterns that are themselves on different lines? |
781 | |
782 | =item * |
783 | |
784 | I put a regular expression into $/ but it didn't work. What's wrong? |
785 | |
786 | =item * |
787 | |
788 | How do I substitute case insensitively on the LHS while preserving case on the RHS? |
789 | |
790 | =item * |
791 | |
792 | How can I make C<\w> match national character sets? |
793 | |
794 | =item * |
795 | |
796 | How can I match a locale-smart version of C</[a-zA-Z]/>? |
65acb1b1 |
797 | |
40d4dc3e |
798 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
799 | |
40d4dc3e |
800 | How can I quote a variable to use in a regex? |
65acb1b1 |
801 | |
40d4dc3e |
802 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
803 | |
40d4dc3e |
804 | What is C</o> really for? |
65acb1b1 |
805 | |
40d4dc3e |
806 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
807 | |
40d4dc3e |
808 | How do I use a regular expression to strip C style comments from a file? |
65acb1b1 |
809 | |
40d4dc3e |
810 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
811 | |
40d4dc3e |
812 | Can I use Perl regular expressions to match balanced text? |
65acb1b1 |
813 | |
40d4dc3e |
814 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
815 | |
40d4dc3e |
816 | What does it mean that regexes are greedy? How can I get around it? |
65acb1b1 |
817 | |
40d4dc3e |
818 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
819 | |
40d4dc3e |
820 | How do I process each word on each line? |
65acb1b1 |
821 | |
40d4dc3e |
822 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
823 | |
40d4dc3e |
824 | How can I print out a word-frequency or line-frequency summary? |
65acb1b1 |
825 | |
40d4dc3e |
826 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
827 | |
40d4dc3e |
828 | How can I do approximate matching? |
65acb1b1 |
829 | |
40d4dc3e |
830 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
831 | |
40d4dc3e |
832 | How do I efficiently match many regular expressions at once? |
65acb1b1 |
833 | |
40d4dc3e |
834 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
835 | |
40d4dc3e |
836 | Why don't word-boundary searches with C<\b> work for me? |
65acb1b1 |
837 | |
40d4dc3e |
838 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
839 | |
40d4dc3e |
840 | Why does using $&, $`, or $' slow my program down? |
841 | |
842 | =item * |
843 | |
844 | What good is C<\G> in a regular expression? |
845 | |
846 | =item * |
847 | |
848 | Are Perl regexes DFAs or NFAs? Are they POSIX compliant? |
849 | |
850 | =item * |
851 | |
852 | What's wrong with using grep or map in a void context? |
853 | |
854 | =item * |
855 | |
856 | How can I match strings with multibyte characters? |
857 | |
858 | =item * |
859 | |
860 | How do I match a pattern that is supplied by the user? |
65acb1b1 |
861 | |
862 | =back |
863 | |
864 | |
40d4dc3e |
865 | =head2 L<perlfaq7>: General Perl Language Issues |
68dc0745 |
866 | |
867 | General Perl language issues that don't clearly fit into any of the |
868 | other sections. |
869 | |
65acb1b1 |
870 | =over 4 |
871 | |
40d4dc3e |
872 | =item * |
873 | |
874 | Can I get a BNF/yacc/RE for the Perl language? |
875 | |
876 | =item * |
877 | |
878 | What are all these $@%&* punctuation signs, and how do I know when to use them? |
879 | |
880 | =item * |
881 | |
882 | Do I always/never have to quote my strings or use semicolons and commas? |
883 | |
884 | =item * |
885 | |
886 | How do I skip some return values? |
887 | |
888 | =item * |
889 | |
890 | How do I temporarily block warnings? |
891 | |
892 | =item * |
893 | |
894 | What's an extension? |
895 | |
896 | =item * |
897 | |
898 | Why do Perl operators have different precedence than C operators? |
899 | |
900 | =item * |
901 | |
902 | How do I declare/create a structure? |
903 | |
904 | =item * |
905 | |
906 | How do I create a module? |
907 | |
908 | =item * |
909 | |
910 | How do I create a class? |
911 | |
912 | =item * |
913 | |
914 | How can I tell if a variable is tainted? |
915 | |
916 | =item * |
917 | |
918 | What's a closure? |
919 | |
920 | =item * |
921 | |
922 | What is variable suicide and how can I prevent it? |
923 | |
924 | =item * |
925 | |
926 | How can I pass/return a {Function, FileHandle, Array, Hash, Method, Regex}? |
65acb1b1 |
927 | |
40d4dc3e |
928 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
929 | |
40d4dc3e |
930 | How do I create a static variable? |
65acb1b1 |
931 | |
40d4dc3e |
932 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
933 | |
40d4dc3e |
934 | What's the difference between dynamic and lexical (static) scoping? Between local() and my()? |
65acb1b1 |
935 | |
40d4dc3e |
936 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
937 | |
40d4dc3e |
938 | How can I access a dynamic variable while a similarly named lexical is in scope? |
65acb1b1 |
939 | |
40d4dc3e |
940 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
941 | |
40d4dc3e |
942 | What's the difference between deep and shallow binding? |
65acb1b1 |
943 | |
40d4dc3e |
944 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
945 | |
40d4dc3e |
946 | Why doesn't "my($foo) = <FILE>;" work right? |
65acb1b1 |
947 | |
40d4dc3e |
948 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
949 | |
40d4dc3e |
950 | How do I redefine a builtin function, operator, or method? |
65acb1b1 |
951 | |
40d4dc3e |
952 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
953 | |
40d4dc3e |
954 | What's the difference between calling a function as &foo and foo()? |
65acb1b1 |
955 | |
40d4dc3e |
956 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
957 | |
40d4dc3e |
958 | How do I create a switch or case statement? |
65acb1b1 |
959 | |
40d4dc3e |
960 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
961 | |
40d4dc3e |
962 | How can I catch accesses to undefined variables/functions/methods? |
65acb1b1 |
963 | |
40d4dc3e |
964 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
965 | |
40d4dc3e |
966 | Why can't a method included in this same file be found? |
65acb1b1 |
967 | |
40d4dc3e |
968 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
969 | |
40d4dc3e |
970 | How can I find out my current package? |
65acb1b1 |
971 | |
40d4dc3e |
972 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
973 | |
40d4dc3e |
974 | How can I comment out a large block of perl code? |
65acb1b1 |
975 | |
40d4dc3e |
976 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
977 | |
40d4dc3e |
978 | How do I clear a package? |
65acb1b1 |
979 | |
40d4dc3e |
980 | =item * |
981 | |
982 | How can I use a variable as a variable name? |
d92eb7b0 |
983 | |
65acb1b1 |
984 | =back |
985 | |
986 | |
40d4dc3e |
987 | =head2 L<perlfaq8>: System Interaction |
68dc0745 |
988 | |
989 | Interprocess communication (IPC), control over the user-interface |
990 | (keyboard, screen and pointing devices). |
991 | |
65acb1b1 |
992 | =over 4 |
993 | |
40d4dc3e |
994 | =item * |
995 | |
996 | How do I find out which operating system I'm running under? |
997 | |
998 | =item * |
999 | |
1000 | How come exec() doesn't return? |
1001 | |
1002 | =item * |
1003 | |
1004 | How do I do fancy stuff with the keyboard/screen/mouse? |
1005 | |
1006 | =item * |
1007 | |
1008 | How do I print something out in color? |
1009 | |
1010 | =item * |
1011 | |
1012 | How do I read just one key without waiting for a return key? |
1013 | |
1014 | =item * |
1015 | |
1016 | How do I check whether input is ready on the keyboard? |
1017 | |
1018 | =item * |
1019 | |
1020 | How do I clear the screen? |
1021 | |
1022 | =item * |
1023 | |
1024 | How do I get the screen size? |
1025 | |
1026 | =item * |
1027 | |
1028 | How do I ask the user for a password? |
1029 | |
1030 | =item * |
1031 | |
1032 | How do I read and write the serial port? |
1033 | |
1034 | =item * |
1035 | |
1036 | How do I decode encrypted password files? |
1037 | |
1038 | =item * |
1039 | |
1040 | How do I start a process in the background? |
1041 | |
1042 | =item * |
1043 | |
1044 | How do I trap control characters/signals? |
1045 | |
1046 | =item * |
1047 | |
1048 | How do I modify the shadow password file on a Unix system? |
1049 | |
1050 | =item * |
1051 | |
1052 | How do I set the time and date? |
1053 | |
1054 | =item * |
1055 | |
1056 | How can I sleep() or alarm() for under a second? |
1057 | |
1058 | =item * |
1059 | |
1060 | How can I measure time under a second? |
1061 | |
1062 | =item * |
1063 | |
1064 | How can I do an atexit() or setjmp()/longjmp()? (Exception handling) |
1065 | |
1066 | =item * |
1067 | |
1068 | Why doesn't my sockets program work under System V (Solaris)? What does the error message "Protocol not supported" mean? |
65acb1b1 |
1069 | |
40d4dc3e |
1070 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1071 | |
40d4dc3e |
1072 | How can I call my system's unique C functions from Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
1073 | |
40d4dc3e |
1074 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1075 | |
40d4dc3e |
1076 | Where do I get the include files to do ioctl() or syscall()? |
65acb1b1 |
1077 | |
40d4dc3e |
1078 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1079 | |
40d4dc3e |
1080 | Why do setuid perl scripts complain about kernel problems? |
65acb1b1 |
1081 | |
40d4dc3e |
1082 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1083 | |
40d4dc3e |
1084 | How can I open a pipe both to and from a command? |
65acb1b1 |
1085 | |
40d4dc3e |
1086 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1087 | |
40d4dc3e |
1088 | Why can't I get the output of a command with system()? |
65acb1b1 |
1089 | |
40d4dc3e |
1090 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1091 | |
40d4dc3e |
1092 | How can I capture STDERR from an external command? |
65acb1b1 |
1093 | |
40d4dc3e |
1094 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1095 | |
40d4dc3e |
1096 | Why doesn't open() return an error when a pipe open fails? |
65acb1b1 |
1097 | |
40d4dc3e |
1098 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1099 | |
40d4dc3e |
1100 | What's wrong with using backticks in a void context? |
65acb1b1 |
1101 | |
40d4dc3e |
1102 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1103 | |
40d4dc3e |
1104 | How can I call backticks without shell processing? |
65acb1b1 |
1105 | |
40d4dc3e |
1106 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1107 | |
40d4dc3e |
1108 | Why can't my script read from STDIN after I gave it EOF (^D on Unix, ^Z on MS-DOS)? |
65acb1b1 |
1109 | |
40d4dc3e |
1110 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1111 | |
40d4dc3e |
1112 | How can I convert my shell script to perl? |
65acb1b1 |
1113 | |
40d4dc3e |
1114 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1115 | |
40d4dc3e |
1116 | Can I use perl to run a telnet or ftp session? |
65acb1b1 |
1117 | |
40d4dc3e |
1118 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1119 | |
40d4dc3e |
1120 | How can I write expect in Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
1121 | |
40d4dc3e |
1122 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1123 | |
40d4dc3e |
1124 | Is there a way to hide perl's command line from programs such as "ps"? |
65acb1b1 |
1125 | |
40d4dc3e |
1126 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1127 | |
40d4dc3e |
1128 | I {changed directory, modified my environment} in a perl script. How come the change disappeared when I exited the script? How do I get my changes to be visible? |
65acb1b1 |
1129 | |
40d4dc3e |
1130 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1131 | |
40d4dc3e |
1132 | How do I close a process's filehandle without waiting for it to complete? |
65acb1b1 |
1133 | |
40d4dc3e |
1134 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1135 | |
40d4dc3e |
1136 | How do I fork a daemon process? |
65acb1b1 |
1137 | |
40d4dc3e |
1138 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1139 | |
40d4dc3e |
1140 | How do I find out if I'm running interactively or not? |
65acb1b1 |
1141 | |
40d4dc3e |
1142 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1143 | |
40d4dc3e |
1144 | How do I timeout a slow event? |
65acb1b1 |
1145 | |
40d4dc3e |
1146 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1147 | |
40d4dc3e |
1148 | How do I set CPU limits? |
65acb1b1 |
1149 | |
40d4dc3e |
1150 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1151 | |
40d4dc3e |
1152 | How do I avoid zombies on a Unix system? |
65acb1b1 |
1153 | |
40d4dc3e |
1154 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1155 | |
40d4dc3e |
1156 | How do I use an SQL database? |
65acb1b1 |
1157 | |
40d4dc3e |
1158 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1159 | |
40d4dc3e |
1160 | How do I make a system() exit on control-C? |
65acb1b1 |
1161 | |
40d4dc3e |
1162 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1163 | |
40d4dc3e |
1164 | How do I open a file without blocking? |
1165 | |
1166 | =item * |
1167 | |
1168 | How do I install a module from CPAN? |
1169 | |
1170 | =item * |
1171 | |
1172 | What's the difference between require and use? |
1173 | |
1174 | =item * |
1175 | |
1176 | How do I keep my own module/library directory? |
1177 | |
1178 | =item * |
1179 | |
1180 | How do I add the directory my program lives in to the module/library search path? |
1181 | |
1182 | =item * |
1183 | |
1184 | How do I add a directory to my include path at runtime? |
1185 | |
1186 | =item * |
1187 | |
1188 | What is socket.ph and where do I get it? |
65acb1b1 |
1189 | |
1190 | =back |
1191 | |
1192 | |
40d4dc3e |
1193 | =head2 L<perlfaq9>: Networking |
68dc0745 |
1194 | |
1195 | Networking, the Internet, and a few on the web. |
1196 | |
65acb1b1 |
1197 | =over 4 |
1198 | |
40d4dc3e |
1199 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1200 | |
40d4dc3e |
1201 | My CGI script runs from the command line but not the browser. (500 Server Error) |
65acb1b1 |
1202 | |
40d4dc3e |
1203 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1204 | |
40d4dc3e |
1205 | How can I get better error messages from a CGI program? |
65acb1b1 |
1206 | |
40d4dc3e |
1207 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1208 | |
40d4dc3e |
1209 | How do I remove HTML from a string? |
65acb1b1 |
1210 | |
40d4dc3e |
1211 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1212 | |
40d4dc3e |
1213 | How do I extract URLs? |
65acb1b1 |
1214 | |
40d4dc3e |
1215 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1216 | |
40d4dc3e |
1217 | How do I download a file from the user's machine? How do I open a file on another machine? |
65acb1b1 |
1218 | |
40d4dc3e |
1219 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1220 | |
40d4dc3e |
1221 | How do I make a pop-up menu in HTML? |
65acb1b1 |
1222 | |
40d4dc3e |
1223 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1224 | |
40d4dc3e |
1225 | How do I fetch an HTML file? |
65acb1b1 |
1226 | |
40d4dc3e |
1227 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1228 | |
40d4dc3e |
1229 | How do I automate an HTML form submission? |
65acb1b1 |
1230 | |
40d4dc3e |
1231 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1232 | |
40d4dc3e |
1233 | How do I decode or create those %-encodings on the web? |
65acb1b1 |
1234 | |
40d4dc3e |
1235 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1236 | |
40d4dc3e |
1237 | How do I redirect to another page? |
65acb1b1 |
1238 | |
40d4dc3e |
1239 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1240 | |
40d4dc3e |
1241 | How do I put a password on my web pages? |
65acb1b1 |
1242 | |
40d4dc3e |
1243 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1244 | |
40d4dc3e |
1245 | How do I edit my .htpasswd and .htgroup files with Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
1246 | |
40d4dc3e |
1247 | =item * |
1248 | |
1249 | How do I make sure users can't enter values into a form that cause my CGI script to do bad things? |
1250 | |
1251 | =item * |
1252 | |
1253 | How do I parse a mail header? |
1254 | |
1255 | =item * |
1256 | |
1257 | How do I decode a CGI form? |
1258 | |
1259 | =item * |
65acb1b1 |
1260 | |
40d4dc3e |
1261 | How do I check a valid mail address? |
1262 | |
1263 | =item * |
1264 | |
1265 | How do I decode a MIME/BASE64 string? |
1266 | |
1267 | =item * |
1268 | |
1269 | How do I return the user's mail address? |
1270 | |
1271 | =item * |
1272 | |
1273 | How do I send mail? |
1274 | |
1275 | =item * |
1276 | |
1277 | How do I read mail? |
1278 | |
1279 | =item * |
1280 | |
1281 | How do I find out my hostname/domainname/IP address? |
1282 | |
1283 | =item * |
1284 | |
1285 | How do I fetch a news article or the active newsgroups? |
1286 | |
1287 | =item * |
1288 | |
1289 | How do I fetch/put an FTP file? |
1290 | |
1291 | =item * |
1292 | |
1293 | How can I do RPC in Perl? |
65acb1b1 |
1294 | |
68dc0745 |
1295 | =back |
1296 | |
40d4dc3e |
1297 | |
1298 | =head1 About the perlfaq documents |
1299 | |
1300 | =head2 Where to get the perlfaq |
68dc0745 |
1301 | |
1302 | This document is posted regularly to comp.lang.perl.announce and |
1303 | several other related newsgroups. It is available in a variety of |
a6dd486b |
1304 | formats from CPAN in the /CPAN/doc/FAQs/FAQ/ directory or on the web |
68dc0745 |
1305 | at http://www.perl.com/perl/faq/ . |
1306 | |
40d4dc3e |
1307 | =head2 How to contribute to the perlfaq |
68dc0745 |
1308 | |
1309 | You may mail corrections, additions, and suggestions to |
c8db1d39 |
1310 | perlfaq-suggestions@perl.com . This alias should not be |
1311 | used to I<ask> FAQs. It's for fixing the current FAQ. |
65acb1b1 |
1312 | Send questions to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup. |
68dc0745 |
1313 | |
1314 | =head2 What will happen if you mail your Perl programming problems to the authors |
1315 | |
1316 | Your questions will probably go unread, unless they're suggestions of |
1317 | new questions to add to the FAQ, in which case they should have gone |
1318 | to the perlfaq-suggestions@perl.com instead. |
1319 | |
1320 | You should have read section 2 of this faq. There you would have |
1321 | learned that comp.lang.perl.misc is the appropriate place to go for |
1322 | free advice. If your question is really important and you require a |
1323 | prompt and correct answer, you should hire a consultant. |
1324 | |
1325 | =head1 Credits |
1326 | |
1327 | When I first began the Perl FAQ in the late 80s, I never realized it |
1328 | would have grown to over a hundred pages, nor that Perl would ever become |
1329 | so popular and widespread. This document could not have been written |
1330 | without the tremendous help provided by Larry Wall and the rest of the |
1331 | Perl Porters. |
1332 | |
1333 | =head1 Author and Copyright Information |
1334 | |
65acb1b1 |
1335 | Copyright (c) 1997-1999 Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington. |
68dc0745 |
1336 | All rights reserved. |
1337 | |
c8db1d39 |
1338 | =head2 Bundled Distributions |
68dc0745 |
1339 | |
5a7beb56 |
1340 | This documentation is free; you can redistribute it and/or modify it |
1341 | under the same terms as Perl itself. |
68dc0745 |
1342 | |
c8db1d39 |
1343 | Irrespective of its distribution, all code examples in these files |
1344 | are hereby placed into the public domain. You are permitted and |
1345 | encouraged to use this code in your own programs for fun |
1346 | or for profit as you see fit. A simple comment in the code giving |
1347 | credit would be courteous but is not required. |
68dc0745 |
1348 | |
1349 | =head2 Disclaimer |
1350 | |
1351 | This information is offered in good faith and in the hope that it may |
1352 | be of use, but is not guaranteed to be correct, up to date, or suitable |
1353 | for any particular purpose whatsoever. The authors accept no liability |
1354 | in respect of this information or its use. |
1355 | |
1356 | =head1 Changes |
1357 | |
1358 | =over 4 |
1359 | |
a6dd486b |
1360 | =item 1/November/2000 |
1361 | |
1362 | A few grammatical fixes and updates implemented by John Borwick. |
1363 | |
d92eb7b0 |
1364 | =item 23/May/99 |
1365 | |
87275199 |
1366 | Extensive updates from the net in preparation for 5.6 release. |
d92eb7b0 |
1367 | |
1368 | =item 13/April/99 |
1369 | |
1370 | More minor touch-ups. Added new question at the end |
1371 | of perlfaq7 on variable names within variables. |
1372 | |
65acb1b1 |
1373 | =item 7/January/99 |
1374 | |
1375 | Small touchups here and there. Added all questions in this |
1376 | document as a sort of table of contents. |
1377 | |
707102d0 |
1378 | =item 22/June/98 |
c8db1d39 |
1379 | |
1380 | Significant changes throughout in preparation for the 5.005 |
1381 | release. |
1382 | |
fc36a67e |
1383 | =item 24/April/97 |
1384 | |
1385 | Style and whitespace changes from Chip, new question on reading one |
1386 | character at a time from a terminal using POSIX from Tom. |
1387 | |
46fc3d4c |
1388 | =item 23/April/97 |
1389 | |
1390 | Added http://www.oasis.leo.org/perl/ to L<perlfaq2>. Style fix to |
1391 | L<perlfaq3>. Added floating point precision, fixed complex number |
1392 | arithmetic, cross-references, caveat for Text::Wrap, alternative |
1393 | answer for initial capitalizing, fixed incorrect regexp, added example |
1394 | of Tie::IxHash to L<perlfaq4>. Added example of passing and storing |
1395 | filehandles, added commify to L<perlfaq5>. Restored variable suicide, |
1396 | and added mass commenting to L<perlfaq7>. Added Net::Telnet, fixed |
1397 | backticks, added reader/writer pair to telnet question, added FindBin, |
1398 | grouped module questions together in L<perlfaq8>. Expanded caveats |
1399 | for the simple URL extractor, gave LWP example, added CGI security |
5a964f20 |
1400 | question, expanded on the mail address answer in L<perlfaq9>. |
46fc3d4c |
1401 | |
3fe9a6f1 |
1402 | =item 25/March/97 |
1403 | |
1404 | Added more info to the binary distribution section of L<perlfaq2>. |
1405 | Added Net::Telnet to L<perlfaq6>. Fixed typos in L<perlfaq8>. Added |
1406 | mail sending example to L<perlfaq9>. Added Merlyn's columns to |
1407 | L<perlfaq2>. |
1408 | |
46fc3d4c |
1409 | =item 18/March/97 |
3fe9a6f1 |
1410 | |
1411 | Added the DATE to the NAME section, indicating which sections have |
1412 | changed. |
1413 | |
1414 | Mentioned SIGPIPE and L<perlipc> in the forking open answer in |
1415 | L<perlfaq8>. |
1416 | |
1417 | Fixed description of a regular expression in L<perlfaq4>. |
1418 | |
68dc0745 |
1419 | =item 17/March/97 Version |
1420 | |
1421 | Various typos fixed throughout. |
1422 | |
1423 | Added new question on Perl BNF on L<perlfaq7>. |
1424 | |
1425 | =item Initial Release: 11/March/97 |
1426 | |
1427 | This is the initial release of version 3 of the FAQ; consequently there |
1428 | have been no changes since its initial release. |
1429 | |
1430 | =back |