Parag Kalra wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> Uptil now I have been coding fairly simple Perl scripts.
>
> Lately I have started designing some complex scripts. And I always felt that
> if you place the logic and flow of the script on paper first then coding
> part is simplified to a great extent. And uptil now I have mainly used pen
> and paper for it. :)
>
> Was just wondering if there is any graphical tool (of course opensource :))
> specific to Perl to design the flow of the Perl script projects before we
> actually start coding it.
>
> Using it I should be able to design something similar to flowcharts and
> should be able to share it with others to get it reviewed.
>
> So just wanted to know which tool does Perl developers use in general to
> design the flow of the Perl projects.
>
> Cheers,
> Parag
>
“Show me your flowcharts and conceal your tables, and I shall continue
to be mystified. Show me your tables, and I won’t usually need your
flowcharts; they’ll be obvious.”
Frederick P. Brookes, Jr., _The Mythical Man-Month_
A lot of my work is data munging so YMMV. But when I start coding, I
write down the data structure of the input and the data structure of the
output. I then create any required internal data structures. After
that, it's as the man said, it becomes obvious; it's just a matter of
connecting the dots.
Of course, knowing how to build complex data structures in Perl is a big
plus. See these perldocs for help:
perldata http://perldoc.perl.org/perldata.html
perldsc http://perldoc.perl.org/perldsc.html
perllol http://perldoc.perl.org/perllol.html
The general rule of thumb is: if the order is important, use an array;
otherwise use a hash.
Also, don't store more than one reference to an item in your data
structures. This can cause circular references. Use the hash key (or
array index) to indirect link items.
--
Just my 0.00000002 million dollars worth,
Shawn
Programming is as much about organization and communication
as it is about coding.
I like Perl; it's the only language where you can bless your
thingy.
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