Congratulations. When you get a bit further on you'll discover how to use
modules for XML work, but there's nothing wrong with what you're doing
right now.
I'll just pick on one part here and let others go for the rest:
At 03:33 PM 5/24/01 +0000, Stout, Joel R wrote:
>sub testType {
> if (/^BIG/) {
> parseBIG ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^REF/) {
> parseREF ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^TDS/) {
> parseTDS ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^CAD/) {
> parseCAD ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^ISS/) {
> parseISS ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^CUR/) {
> parseCUR ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^NTE/) {
> parseNTE ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^N1/) {
> parseN1 ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^N3/) {
> parseN3 ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^N4/) {
> parseN4 ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^AMT/) {
> parseAMT ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^ITD/) {
> parseITD ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^PKG/) {
> parsePKG ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^R4/) {
> parseR4 ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^IT1/) {
> parseIT1 ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^PID/) {
> parsePID ($_[0]);
> } elsif (/^SE/) {
> printResults();
> }
Any time you find yourself doing something that feels mindless or
uncreative, that's a clue that there's a way for Perl to make life easier
for you. In this case, observe the considerable repetition. You could
simplifiy this using a function dispatch table (you'll really get a kick
out of references when you learn them):
sub testType {
my %dispatch = (BIG => \&parseBIG,
REF => \&parseREF,
TDS => \&parseTDS,
CAD => \&parseCAD,
ISS => \&parseISS,
CUR => \&parseCUR,
NTE => \&parseNTE,
N1 => \&parseN1,
N3 => \&parseN3,
N4 => \&parseN4,
AMT => \&parseAMT,
ITD => \&parseITD,
PKG => \&parsePKG,
R4 => \&parseR4,
IT1 => \&parseIT1,
PID => \&parsePID);
my $prefixes = join '|', keys %dispatch;
if (/^($prefixes)/) {
$dispatch{$1}->(shift);
}
elsif /^SE/ {
printResults();
}
}
This is vulnerable if you put in more strings where one is a prefix of
another, though, just be aware of that.
Actually, given your naming structure, it would be possible to make it even
shorter using even more magic, and avoid that potential ordering problem at
the same time:
sub testType {
my $parse = "BIG|REF|TDS|CAD|ISS|CUR|NTE|N1|N3|N4|AMT|ITD|PKG|R4|IT1|PID";
if (/^($parse)/) {
my $subname = "parse$1";
goto &$subname;
}
elsif (/^SE/) {
printResults();
}
}
but that's a bit unfair to you right now :-)
Oh, and add a -w to your shebang line.
--
Peter Scott
Pacific Systems Design Technologies
http://www.perldebugged.com
