THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY August 28, 2002 Perl ______________ TODAY'S SPONSOR: VeriSign - The Value of Trust
Secure all your Web servers now - with a proven 5-part strategy. The FREE Server Security Guide shows you how to deploy the latest encryption and authentication techniques, deliver transparent protection with the strongest security without disrupting users, and more. Get your FREE Guide now: http://WhatIs.com/r/0,,5255,00.htm?FreeGuide ______________ TODAY'S WORD: Perl See our definition with hyperlinks at http://searchdatabase.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid13_gci214291,00.html Perl is a script programming language that is similar in syntax to the C language and that includes a number of popular UNIX facilities such as SED, awk, and tr. Perl is an interpreted language that can optionally be compiled just before execution into either C code or cross-platform bytecode. When compiled, a Perl program is almost (but not quite) as fast as a fully precompiled C language program. Perl is regarded as a good choice for developing common gateway interface (CGI) programs because it has good text manipulation facilities (although it also handles binary files). It was invented by Larry Wall. In general, Perl is easier to learn and faster to code in than the more structured C and C++ languages. Perl programs can, however, be quite sophisticated. Perl tends to have devoted adherents. Plug-ins can be installed for some servers (Apache, for example) so that Perl is loaded permanently in memory, thus reducing compile time and resulting in faster execution of CGI Perl scripts. Perl was originally said to stand for "Practical Extraction and Reporting Language" but that name is no longer used. Larry Wall prefers the usage of an upper-case "Perl" for the language itself and lower-case "perl" for any interpreter or compiler of Perl. RELATED TERMS: script http://searchvb.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid8_gci212948,00.html syntax http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213081,00.html C http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci211723,00.html UNIX http://searchsolaris.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid12_gci213253,00.html SED http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci797765,00.html awk http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci214557,00.html interpreted http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212373,00.html compiled http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci211824,00.html bytecode http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci211722,00.html CGI http://searchdatabase.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid13_gci213846,00.html C++ http://searchdatabase.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid13_gci211850,00.html plug-in http://searchsystemsmanagement.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid20_gci212800,00.html Apache http://searchwebmanagement.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid27_gci211576,00.html ________________________ SELECTED LINKS: The Perl language has its own home page. http://www.perl.com/ SearchDatabase.com offers hundreds of technical resources related to Perl. http://searchdatabase.techtarget.com/bestWebLinks/0,,sid13_tax281604,00.html Take 10 Minutes to Learn Perl uses simple, self-explanatory examples. http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/7331/ten_perl.html ______________________ WHATIS DISCUSSION FORUM | Challenge #13: Choosing an HTML editor Les is at the point where he needs to invest some money in a good HTML editor. He's confused about whether to invest in a high-end product that has features he's not yet ready to use, or go with something less expensive that he might outgrow. THE CHALLENGE: What is your favorite HTML editor? Recommend an HTML editor for Les to consider purchasing. http://whatis.discussions.techtarget.com/WebX?[EMAIL PROTECTED]@.1dcfae0e/113!viewtype= ______________________ QUIZ #7 | Protocols How much do you know about IT protocols? Take our quiz and find out! http://searchsystemsmanagement.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid20_gci558485,00.html ______________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS AND UPDATES [1] platform http://searchhp.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid6_gci212797,00.html [2] Power over Ethernet http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci846792_top1,00.html [3] How do you pronounce IT? http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci845059,00.html [4] messaging http://searchsystemsmanagement.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid20_gci212554,00.html [5] HDCD http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci843768,00.html ____________________________________________________________________ ::::::::::::::::::: WHATIS.COM CONTACTS ::::::::::::::::::: LOWELL THING, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ____________________________________________________________________ MARGARET ROUSE, Assistant Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ___________________________________________________________________ :::::::::::::::::::: ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ::::::::::::::::::::: Published by TechTarget (http://www.techtarget.com) TechTarget - The Most Targeted IT Media Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved. 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