Perl Builder

I remember the day I decided I wanted to learn to program in Perl. My first step was to search the web for all the information I could gather. I kept running into a requirement that I should be able to telnet into my account at my ISP to learn Perl programming. I had no idea what that meant so I went out and bought the Camel book,  and just about every other book I could find about CGI and Perl programming. Through everything, the one major drawback was testing my scripts. I was a relative newbie to the internet so I was a little intimidated, well, a lot intimidated by doing the telnet thing. I did finally get up my nerve and my first try was a disaster. I was so nervous that I was going to wipe out my ISP (which I now know would be pretty hard to do). I finally found a place on the net to easily test and debug my scripts as I tried to learn Perl programming. The drawback to this is that you are at the mercy of the internet, the server you are testing on and a host of other variables, but, not knowing there was something as cool as Perl Builder out there, I went on about my business.

Then, after a while I decided maybe I would just install a server and Perl on my local machine. That way I could test my scripts locally and not have to deal with internet connections. Well, server administrator I am not. The servers were all easy to install, but configuring them to Perl was another story. Besides, I wanted to learn Perl, not all that other stuff first. Back to the online service for me.

My travels since then have brought a seriously powerful tool into my toolbox. Perl Builder. Perl Builder is an application that allows you to write, test, and run Perl scripts locally without installing a server on your local machine. You will have to install ActiveStates' Perl of course (which is free), which is as easy as double clicking on it's .exe file and accepting the defaults. Done in seconds. Perl Builder installs just as easily.

Once Perl Builder is installed, you can start writing, testing, and debugging scripts immediately. There are tutorials and examples on how to use the software. Solutionsoft, the makers of Perl Builder really had their ducks in a row when they wrote this software.

I know what you're thinking. "But, do I still have to learn Perl programming?". Or, "I'm an experienced programmer, why do I need this?". Well, let me tell you. For everyone, one of the first advantages is that you can write, test, and debug all on your desktop. If you're not an experienced programmer, in fact if you are an HTML writer and have no programming experience you can use Perl Builder. The CGI Wizard guides you through the steps. If you are an experienced Perl programmer, the ease of use, and convenience of being able to work from the desktop should be a big plus. And before I go on, Perl Builder is not only for writing CGI/Perl programs but can be used to develop other types of Perl programs as well.

For the non Perl programmer the CGI Wizard will automatically generate scripts that will do any or all of the following:

• Read input values submitted by a user through an HTML form

• Validate user input

• Send automated email messages

• Display HTML output to the user

The above capabilities will allow you to process online forms. The experienced Perl programmer or someone wishing to learn Perl can add their own code.

 

Above and below are screenshots of the menus available in Perl Builder.

 

Below the screenshot shows the available program options.

I didn't want to overload this page too much, but I also didn't want to leave out the screenshots listed below that really show off Perl Builder. When you click on one of the image links a new window will open and load the screenshot. These screenshots mainly cover forms that can be easily generated with the Wizard.

Pic06, Pic07, Pic08, Pic09, Pic10, Pic11, Pic12, Pic13

Whether you are an experienced programmer, or have no idea how to program in Perl, Perl Builder is an awesome tool.  Do you want to learn how to program in Perl? I can't think of an easier way to learn than right on the desktop.

Now, you still have to know how to set up your scripts on your server, so you still have to learn that and it can be as simple as emailing your ISP for the correct information, but Solutionsoft has reduced the learning curve by miles and miles with Perl Builder. If you are interested in learning Perl, or you just want decent form processing, Perl Builder is for you. If you're an experienced programmer and want to be able to easily write, test, and debug your Perl programs, Perl Builder is for you. Scripts can be written and tested locally without all the hassle of servers and telnet.

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Perl Builder

Macintosh System Requirements
Windows System Requirements
Windows 95, 98, NT
ActiveStates' Perl

Estimated Street Price
$149.00 (US) Average Selling Price

Copyright Vikki Olds, All Rights Reserved