=head1 NAME
-perlfaq - frequently asked questions about Perl ($Date: 2002/11/13 06:23:50 $)
+perlfaq - frequently asked questions about Perl ($Date: 2003/01/31 17:37:17 $)
=head1 DESCRIPTION
-The perlfaq is structured into the following documents:
+The perlfaq is divided into several documents based on topics. A table
+of contents is at the end of this document.
+=head2 Where to get the perlfaq
+
+Extracts of the perlfaq are posted regularly to
+comp.lang.perl.misc. It is available on many web sites:
+http://www.perldoc.com/ and http://faq.perl.org/
+
+=head2 How to contribute to the perlfaq
+
+You may mail corrections, additions, and suggestions to
+perlfaq-workers@perl.org . This alias should not be used to
+I<ask> FAQs. It's for fixing the current FAQ. Send
+questions to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup. You can
+view the source tree at http://cvs.perl.org/cvsweb/perlfaq/
+(which is outside of the main Perl source tree). The CVS
+repository notes all changes to the FAQ.
+
+=head2 What will happen if you mail your Perl programming problems to the authors
+
+Your questions will probably go unread, unless they're
+suggestions of new questions to add to the FAQ, in which
+case they should have gone to the perlfaq-workers@perl.org
+instead.
+
+You should have read section 2 of this faq. There you would
+have learned that comp.lang.perl.misc is the appropriate
+place to go for free advice. If your question is really
+important and you require a prompt and correct answer, you
+should hire a consultant.
+
+=head1 Credits
+
+The original perlfaq was written by Tom Christiansen, then expanded
+by collaboration between Tom and Nathan Torkington. The current
+document is maintained by the perlfaq-workers (perlfaq-workers@perl.org).
+Several people have contributed answers, corrections, and comments.
+
+=head1 Author and Copyright Information
+
+Copyright (c) 1997-2003 Tom Christiansen, Nathan Torkington, and
+other contributors noted in the answers.
+
+All rights reserved.
+
+=head2 Bundled Distributions
+
+This documentation is free; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+under the same terms as Perl itself.
+
+Irrespective of its distribution, all code examples in these files
+are hereby placed into the public domain. You are permitted and
+encouraged to use this code in your own programs for fun
+or for profit as you see fit. A simple comment in the code giving
+credit would be courteous but is not required.
+
+=head2 Disclaimer
+
+This information is offered in good faith and in the hope that it may
+be of use, but is not guaranteed to be correct, up to date, or suitable
+for any particular purpose whatsoever. The authors accept no liability
+in respect of this information or its use.
+
+=head1 Table of Contents
+
+=over 4
+
+=item perlfaq - this document
+
+=item perlfaq1 - General Questions About Perl
+
+=item perlfaq2 - Obtaining and Learning about Perl
+
+=item perlfaq3 - Programming Tools
+
+=item perlfaq4 - Data Manipulation
+
+=item perlfaq5 - Files and Formats
+
+=item perlfaq6 - Regular Expressions
+
+=item perlfaq7 - General Perl Language Issues
-=head2 perlfaq: Structural overview of the FAQ.
+=item perlfaq8 - System Interaction
-This document.
+=item perlfaq9 - Networking
+
+
+=back
+
+
+=head1 The Questions
=head2 L<perlfaq1>: General Questions About Perl
=item *
-How do I find the week-of-the-year/day-of-the-year?
+How do I find the day or week of the year?
=item *
=item *
-Why don't my <<HERE documents work?
+Why don't my E<lt>E<lt>HERE documents work?
=item *
=item *
-Why do I sometimes get an "Argument list too long" when I use <*>?
+Why do I sometimes get an "Argument list too long" when I use E<lt>*E<gt>?
=item *
=item *
-Why can't I just open(FH, ">file.lock")?
+Why can't I just open(FH, "E<gt>file.lock")?
=item *
=item *
-Why doesn't "my($foo) = <FILE>;" work right?
+Why doesn't "my($foo) = E<lt>FILEE<gt>;" work right?
=item *
How can I use a variable as a variable name?
+=item *
+
+What does "bad interpreter" mean?
+
=back
=back
-=head1 About the perlfaq documents
-
-=head2 Where to get the perlfaq
-
-This document is posted regularly to comp.lang.perl.announce and
-several other related newsgroups. It is available on many
-web sites: http://www.perldoc.com/ and http://perlfaq.cpan.org/ .
-
-=head2 How to contribute to the perlfaq
-
-You may mail corrections, additions, and suggestions to
-perlfaq-workers@perl.org . This alias should not be
-used to I<ask> FAQs. It's for fixing the current FAQ.
-Send questions to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup.
-
-=head2 What will happen if you mail your Perl programming problems to the authors
-
-Your questions will probably go unread, unless they're suggestions of
-new questions to add to the FAQ, in which case they should have gone
-to the perlfaq-workers@perl.org instead.
-
-You should have read section 2 of this faq. There you would have
-learned that comp.lang.perl.misc is the appropriate place to go for
-free advice. If your question is really important and you require a
-prompt and correct answer, you should hire a consultant.
-
-=head1 Credits
-
-When I first began the Perl FAQ in the late 80s, I never realized it
-would have grown to over a hundred pages, nor that Perl would ever become
-so popular and widespread. This document could not have been written
-without the tremendous help provided by Larry Wall and the rest of the
-Perl Porters.
-
-=head1 Author and Copyright Information
-
-Copyright (c) 1997-2002 Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington.
-All rights reserved.
-
-=head2 Bundled Distributions
-
-This documentation is free; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
-under the same terms as Perl itself.
-
-Irrespective of its distribution, all code examples in these files
-are hereby placed into the public domain. You are permitted and
-encouraged to use this code in your own programs for fun
-or for profit as you see fit. A simple comment in the code giving
-credit would be courteous but is not required.
-
-=head2 Disclaimer
-
-This information is offered in good faith and in the hope that it may
-be of use, but is not guaranteed to be correct, up to date, or suitable
-for any particular purpose whatsoever. The authors accept no liability
-in respect of this information or its use.
-
-=back