=head1 NAME
-perlfaq3 - Programming Tools ($Revision: 1.33 $, $Date: 1998/12/29 20:12:12 $)
+perlfaq3 - Programming Tools ($Revision: 1.38 $, $Date: 1999/05/23 16:08:30 $)
=head1 DESCRIPTION
Objects perlref, perlmod, perlobj, perltie
Data Structures perlref, perllol, perldsc
Modules perlmod, perlmodlib, perlsub
- Regexps perlre, perlfunc, perlop, perllocale
+ Regexes perlre, perlfunc, perlop, perllocale
Moving to perl5 perltrap, perl
Linking w/C perlxstut, perlxs, perlcall, perlguts, perlembed
Various http://www.perl.com/CPAN/doc/FMTEYEWTK/index.html
settings in vi and its clones:
set ai sw=4
- map ^O {^M}^[O^T
+ map! ^O {^M}^[O^T
Now put that in your F<.exrc> file (replacing the caret characters
with control characters) and away you go. In insert mode, ^T is
The a2ps at http://www.infres.enst.fr/~demaille/a2ps/ does lots of things
related to generating nicely printed output of documents.
-=head2 Is there a etags/ctags for perl?
+=head2 Is there a ctags for Perl?
-With respect to the source code for the Perl interpreter, yes.
-There has been support for etags in the source for a long time.
-Ctags was introduced in v5.005_54 (and probably 5.005_03).
-After building perl, type 'make etags' or 'make ctags' and both
-sets of tag files will be built.
-
-Now, if you're looking to build a tag file for perl code, then there's
-a simple one at
+There's a simple one at
http://www.perl.com/CPAN/authors/id/TOMC/scripts/ptags.gz which may do
the trick. And if not, it's easy to hack into what you want.
=head2 Is there an IDE or Windows Perl Editor?
-If you're on Unix, you already have an IDE -- Unix itself.
-You just have to learn the toolbox. If you're not, then you
-probably don't have a toolbox, so may need something else.
-
-PerlBuilder (XXX URL to follow) is an integrated development
-environment for Windows that supports Perl development. Perl programs
-are just plain text, though, so you could download emacs for Windows
-(XXX) or vim for win32 (http://www.cs.vu.nl/~tmgil/vi.html). If
-you're transferring Windows files to Unix, be sure to transfer in
-ASCII mode so the ends of lines are appropriately converted.
+If you're on Unix, you already have an IDE -- Unix itself. This powerful
+IDE derives from its interoperability, flexibility, and configurability.
+If you really want to get a feel for Unix-qua-IDE, the best thing to do
+is to find some high-powered programmer whose native language is Unix.
+Find someone who has been at this for many years, and just sit back
+and watch them at work. They have created their own IDE, one that
+suits their own tastes and aptitudes. Quietly observe them edit files,
+move them around, compile them, debug them, test them, etc. The entire
+development *is* integrated, like a top-of-the-line German sports car:
+functional, powerful, and elegant. You will be absolutely astonished
+at the speed and ease exhibited by the native speaker of Unix in his
+home territory. The art and skill of a virtuoso can only be seen to be
+believed. That is the path to mastery -- all these cobbled little IDEs
+are expensive toys designed to sell a flashy demo using cheap tricks,
+and being optimized for immediate but shallow understanding rather than
+enduring use, are but a dim palimpsest of real tools.
+
+In short, you just have to learn the toolbox. However, if you're not
+on Unix, then your vendor probably didn't bother to provide you with
+a proper toolbox on the so-called complete system that you forked out
+your hard-earned cash on.
+
+PerlBuilder (XXX URL to follow) is an integrated development environment
+for Windows that supports Perl development. Perl programs are just plain
+text, though, so you could download emacs for Windows (???) or a vi clone
+(vim) which runs on for win32 (http://www.cs.vu.nl/~tmgil/vi.html).
+If you're transferring Windows files to Unix, be sure to transfer in
+ASCII mode so the ends of lines are appropriately mangled.
=head2 Where can I get Perl macros for vi?
context-sensitive help, and other nifty things.
Note that the perl-mode of emacs will have fits with C<"main'foo">
-(single quote), and mess up the indentation and hilighting. You
+(single quote), and mess up the indentation and highlighting. You
are probably using C<"main::foo"> in new Perl code anyway, so this
shouldn't be an issue.
language, not just Perl).
If you're concerned about people profiting from your code, then the
-bottom line is that nothing but a restrictive licence will give you
+bottom line is that nothing but a restrictive license will give you
legal security. License your software and pepper it with threatening
statements like ``This is unpublished proprietary software of XYZ Corp.
Your access to it does not give you permission to use it blah blah
blah.'' We are not lawyers, of course, so you should see a lawyer if
-you want to be sure your licence's wording will stand up in court.
+you want to be sure your license's wording will stand up in court.
=head2 How can I compile my Perl program into byte code or C?
eval() statement. You can tremendously reduce this cost by building a
shared I<libperl.so> library and linking against that. See the
F<INSTALL> podfile in the perl source distribution for details. If
-you link your main perl binary with this, it will make it miniscule.
+you link your main perl binary with this, it will make it minuscule.
For example, on one author's system, F</usr/bin/perl> is only 11k in
size!
The Win95/NT installation, when using the ActiveState port of Perl,
will modify the Registry to associate the C<.pl> extension with the
-perl interpreter. If you install another port (Gurusamy Sarathy's is
-the recommended Win95/NT port), or (eventually) build your own
-Win95/NT Perl using a Windows port of gcc (e.g., with cygwin32 or
-mingw32), then you'll have to modify the Registry yourself. In
-addition to associating C<.pl> with the interpreter, NT people can
-use: C<SET PATHEXT=%PATHEXT%;.PL> to let them run the program
-C<install-linux.pl> merely by typing C<install-linux>.
+perl interpreter. If you install another port, perhaps even building
+your own Win95/NT Perl from the standard sources by using a Windows port
+of gcc (e.g., with cygwin32 or mingw32), then you'll have to modify
+the Registry yourself. In addition to associating C<.pl> with the
+interpreter, NT people can use: C<SET PATHEXT=%PATHEXT%;.PL> to let them
+run the program C<install-linux.pl> merely by typing C<install-linux>.
Macintosh perl scripts will have the appropriate Creator and
Type, so that double-clicking them will invoke the perl application.
When included as an integrated part of the Standard Distribution
of Perl or of its documentation (printed or otherwise), this works is
-covered under Perl's Artistic Licence. For separate distributions of
+covered under Perl's Artistic License. For separate distributions of
all or part of this FAQ outside of that, see L<perlfaq>.
Irrespective of its distribution, all code examples here are public
derivatives thereof in your own programs for fun or for profit as you
see fit. A simple comment in the code giving credit to the FAQ would
be courteous but is not required.
-