Basics of Perl - UNIT-8

Introduction to Web Technologies
UNIT-8
The Basics of Perl
Advanced Web Design
Unit 8 The Basics of Perl
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UNIT-8
The Basics of Perl
Origins and Uses of Perl

Perl was developed in 1987 by Larry Wall.
What is perl
Practical Extraction and Report Language
Goal:
to expand on the text-processing features of awk.
Why perl:
Interpreted Language
Optimized for String Manipulation and File I/O
Full support for Regular Expressions.
Widely used for CGI scripting
Freely available
Basic Syntax
Statements end with semicolon ;
Comments start with #

Only single line comments
Variables
You dont have to declare a variable before you
access it
You don't have to declare a variable's type
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What are the benefits of perl? What are the basic datatypes in perl.
The Basics of Perl
--10
What are the three categories of perl variables? Give example for each. --06
Benefits of perl
support for communications using sockets
support for object-oriented programming
powerful text pattern-matching capabilities
Portability: Perl code that doesn't use system specific
features can be run on any platform
Basic Data-types.
T hree categories of variables in Perl:
1. scalar variables - begin with $.

- Scalar variables can store
numbers
character strings
references (addresses)
2. vector (Array) variables - begin with @.

@myList = (1, 2, 3);
@list_of_names = ('Larry', 'Curly', 'Moe');
3. hash (Associative Array) variables - begins with %.

%myHash = ( "name" => "Larry",
"phone" => "111-111-1111"
);
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how can a perl variable acts as string and number?
--06
Perl is a weakly typed language, meaning that a "variable" could

hold many different forms of data.
perl variable as number
Perl uses double-precision floating point values for calculation.

Example: $x =10.7 #floating-point values
$a =1000 #integer values

Perl also accepts string literal as a number for example:
$s = "2000"; # similar to $s = 2000;
perl variable as string
Perl defines string as a sequence of characters.

$str = "this is a string in Perl".
Constants:
Numeric Literals
All numeric values are represented internally as doubleprecision floating point values.
Literal numbers are integers or floating point values.
Integers are strings of digits
Integers can be written in hexadecimal by preceding

them with 0x
Floating point values can have decimal points and/or
exponents:
12345
-54321
12345.67
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# integer
# negative integer
# floating point
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6.02E23
0xffff
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The Basics of Perl
# scientific notation
# hexadecimal
# octal
String Literals
Quoting Strings
1. Strings enclosed in single quotes :
Everything is interpreted literally
Cant include: escape sequences such as \n.
Include: a single quote \'.
single quotes can be replaced by other delimiter using "q"

q$I don't want to go, I can't go, I won't go!$
q<I don't want to go, I can't go, I won't go!>
2. Double-quoted string
can include special characters (such as \n).
A double quote can be embedded by preceding it with

a backslash
"\"Aha !\", he said."
A different delimited can be used proceeding with qq.

qq@"Why, I never!", said she@
A null string is written as ' ' or " ".
3. With ` (backtick)
The text is executed as a separate process, and the output

of the command is returned as the value of the string
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Quote and Quote-like Operators

Customary
Generic
Meaning
''
q{}
Literal
no
""
qq{}
Literal
yes
``
qx{}
Command
yes*
qw{}
Word list
//
m{}
Interpolates
no
Pattern match
yes*
qr{}
Pattern
yes*
s{}{}
Substitution
yes*
tr{}{}
Transliteration
no
y{}{}
Transliteration
no
<<EOF
here-doc
yes*
* unless the delimiter is ''.
Scalar Variables: Rules
The names of scalar variable all begin with $ and then continue with
a letter, followed by letters, digits and/or underscores.
Variable names are case sensitive, so

$FRIZZY, $Frizzy and $frizzy
are three different names.
Convention: programmer names in Perl should not use uppercase.

Interpolation:
If variables names are included in double- quoted string, the

variable names are Interpolated ( replaced by their values).
Example
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$age = 47;
$myString = "Jack is $age years old ";
$myString has the value: "Jack is 47 years old"
Declaring Scalar Variables
rarely declared explicitly;
done implicitly when a value is assigned to the variable.
Scalar variables that have not been assigned a value by the

program that the value undef, with a numerical value of
0 and a string value of "".
Implicit Variables
Perl has several predefined, or implicit, variables,

whose names begin with $.
$_
Set in many situations such as reading from

a file or in a foreach loop.
$0
Name of the file currently being executed.
$]
Version of Perl being used.
@_
Contains the parameters passed to a

subroutine.
@ARGV
Contains the command line arguments

passed to the program.
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Numeric Operators
Operator
Associativity
++, -Unary +, -
Nonassociative
*
Right to left
** (exponentiation)
Right to left
*, /, %
Left to right
Binary +, -
Left to right
numeric operations are performed in double-precision floating point.
Operator
x
=
Operation
string concatenation
string repetition
concatenation and assignment
Concatenation is performed using the operator:
Example
$first = "Freddy"
$first " Freeloader"
Result
"Freddy
Freeloader"
x is the repetition operator.

Example
"More! " x 3
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Result
"More! More! More! "
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With example explain the string functions in perl.
The Basics of Perl
--10
String Functions
Name
Parameter(s)
chomp
A string
Removes trailing newlines and

returns # of removed characters
length
A string
Returns the # of characters in its

parameter string
Lc
A string
Returns the parameter with all

uppercase convert to lowercase
Uc
A string
Returns the parameter with all

lowercase convert to uppercase
Hex
A string
Returns the decimal value of the

hex. number in its parameter string
Join
A character and the strings

concatenated together with
a list of strings
Actions
Returns a string constructed by

concatenating the strings of the
second and subsequent parameters
the parameter char. in between.
Explain standard input output in perl with example. --10
Keyboard Input
All input and output in Perl is treated as file I/O.
Files have external names, but are know within the program by
their internal names (known as "filehandles").
Three predefined filehandles: STDIN, STDOUT and STDERR.
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We get line input by writing:

$in_data = <STDIN> ;
#reads including newline
chomp($in_data = <STDIN>);
#does not read newline
Screen Output
The standard way of producing output is the print
operator/function (which requires parentheses).
takes one or more string literals separated by commas.
print "This is pretty easy\n", By..;
C's printf function and its formatting specifiers are also available.
-----------------------------Example sum.pl ----------------------------------------
# Input: Two numbers, a and b

# Output: sum of two numbers
print "Please input the value of a ";
$a = <STDIN>;
print "Please input the value of b ";
$b = <STDIN>;
$result = $a + $b ;
print "The value of the expression is: $result \n";
-------------------------------------------------
Running Perl programs

Under Windows, UNIX and Linux, a Perl program is run by
typing perl and the program's file name:
perl
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sum.pl
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to see if there are errors, use the c option.

If you want warnings as well, use the w option.
perl w sum.pl inputFile.dat
uses inputFile.dat as standard input.
Relational Operators
Numeric
Operands
Operation
String
Operand
s
Is equal to*
==
Is not equal to*
!=
Ne
Is less than*
<
Lt
Is greater than*
>
Gt
Is less than or equal to*
<=
Le
Is greater than or equal to*
>=
Ge
<=>
Cmp
Compare:
a > b it produces -1,

a = b produces 0,
a > b produces +1
* Produces +1 if true,
Eq
"" is false
Assignment Operators as Control Expressions
Because assignment operators have values (the value being

assigned to the left-hand side), they can be used as control
expressions.
The following loop will execute until end of file is
encountered:
while ($next = <STDIN>)
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{
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Selection and Loop Statements

Explain briefly the different selection structures in PERL. Give examples. --10
if, if-else, if-elsif-else
- similar to c and c++
Simple if:
if ($ > 10)
$b = $a * 2;
}
if constructs with elsif

if ($snowrate < 1)
print "Light snow\n";
}
elsif ($snowrate < 2) {
print "Moderate snow\n";
}
else {
print "Heavy snow\n";
}
There is no switch statement in Perl.
unless
unless has essentially the same syntax as if, except the statements in
the block are executed if the condition is false.
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Example
unless (sum > 1000) {

print "We\'re not finished yet!";
}
is the same as:
if (sum <= 1000)
print "We\'re not finished yet!";
Explain briefly the different Loop structures in PERL. Give examples. --10
while , until and for loop

while and for are similar to those in C. There is also until,
where the loop continue as long as the condition is false.
$sum = 0;
$sum = 0;
$sum = 0;
$count = 1;
$count = 1;
while ( $count <= 100 ) {
until ( $count > 100 ) {
$sum += $count;
$sum += $count;
for ($sum = 0, $count = 1; $count <= 100; $count++)

$sum += $count;
}
Assignment:
Example:1
Write program to read N number of values, and then to compute and print
sum and average of N entered values.
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Example:2
Write program to read all numbers till End_of_File from keyboard and
then to compute and print sum and average.
--06
last and next

last and next provides an early exit from a loop.
last breaks the program out of the innermost loop
(or another loop if you use labels)
next takes the program to the next iteration of the innermost
(or another loop if you use labels).
Example:
for ($i = 0;
if ($i == 0)
$i > 5; $i++)
last;
Loops and Labels in Perl
Using a label allows the programmer to decide which one of several
nested loops will be exited:
BIGLOOP:
while () {
while () {
while (..) {
if () { last BIGLOOP}
}
}
}
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List Literals
A list is an ordered sequence of scalar values.
A list literal is a parenthesized list of scalar values and is
the way a list value is specified in a program.

( 1, 10, 17 )
Arrays can be assigned lists.
@mylist = ( 1, 10, 17 )
Lists can store any combination of different types of
scalar values:
( $val + 1, "circles", 17 )
Explain how perl arrays different from c and c++
Arrays
Arrays are variables that can store lists and begin with @
Scalars and arrays are in different namespaces, so there is no
connection between $a and $a[0].
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$a = 10 ;
@a = (50, 60, 70) ;
print
scalar = $a;
print
Element = $a[1]; # display 60
# display 10
Arrays can be assigned lists or other arrays:

@list = ('boy', 'girl', 'dog', 'cat');
@animals = @list;
If a list is assigned to a scalar variable, It returns the
array's length.
$len
@list
A list literal with all variables can be assigned values in
another list literal:

($first, $second, $third)
= ("George", "Bernard", "Shaw");
This is shorthand for:
$first = "George";
$second = "Bernard";
$third = "Shaw";
If an array is in that list, it will be assigned any variables not

assigned to list members to its left.
($first, @myarray, $third)
= ("George", "Bernard", "Shaw");
This is shorthand for:
$first = "George";
@myarray = ( "Bernard","Shaw" ) ;
$third = "";
In such case array should be kept at the last
Arrays and Subscripts

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Arrays in Perl use integer subscripts beginning at zero.

Accessing individual elements:
@list = (2, 4, 6, 8);

$second = $list[1];
Scalars and arrays are in different namespaces, so there is no
connection between $a and $a[0].
Array Lengths
Array lengths are dynamic:
@list = ("Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday");
$list[4] = "Friday";
If you write:
@list = (2, 4, 6);
list[27] = 8; # Elements are 4 , but length is 28.
The Last subscript in a list
$#list
#gives array length
$#list + 1
#gives array length
$#list = 99
#Set array length to 100
foreach Statement
The foreach statement in Perl allows the programmer to process
every member of an array:
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foreach $value ( @list )

{
$value /= 2;
# divides every member by 2
}
$value is local to above loop.

foreach treats every vacant element had a value .
$list[1] = 17;
$list[3] = 34;
output
foreach $value (@list)
{
print "Next: $value \n";
}
Next:
Next: 17
Next:
Next: 34
Built-in Array Functions

Explain the built-in Array functions available in perl with examples.
1. pop
- remove and return the last item of an array.

@list = ("Moe", "Curly", "Larry");
$first = shift @list;
2. shift - remove and return the first item of an array.

$first = shift @list;
3. push - takes two parameters, An array and scalar
or list.
- Scalar or list is added to the end of the array.
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push @list, "Shemp";
4. unshift - takes two parameters, An array and scalar or list.
- Scalar or list is added to the beginning of the array.

unshift @list, "Shemp";
Explain the built-in List functions available in perl with examples.
1. split - breaks strings into parts

- using a specific character as the basis for split:
$stoogestring = Curly Larry Moe;
@stooges = split (" ", $stoogestring);
New list :
("Curly", "Larry", "Moe")
2. sort - takes an array parameter.

- uses a string comparison to sort the elements of
the array alphabetically in the list that it returns:
@newlist = sort @list;
foreach $value (@newlist)
{
print "$value\n"
}
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3. qw - place a sequence of unquoted strings inside

quotation:
qw(peaches apples pears kumquats)
will produce:
("peaches", "apples", "pears", "kumquats")
4. die - takes a variable number of string parameters,
concatenates them and sends the result to STDERR, and

terminates the program.
The implicit opeator $! Stores the number of the most

recent error that has occurred:
Example:
die "Error division by 0 in function fun2 - $! "
Write Program to read file supplied from command line,

then converted to uppercase, and display them in
alphabetical order.
An Example: process_names.pl
# A simple program to illustrate the use of arrays

#
Input:
#
#
A file, specified on command line, where line is a

person's name
Output: converted to uppercase, and display in alphabetical order
$index = 0;
($name = <>)
#>>> Loop to read the names
{
$arrNames[$index++] = uc($name);
#>>> Convert to uppercase and STORE in arrNames array

}
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print "\nThe sorted list of names is:\n\n\n";

#>>> Display the sorted list of names
foreach $name (sort @names)

{
print ("$name \n");
}
Hashes
An associative array is an array in which each data item is
paired with a key (which uniquely identifies the data).

Associative arrays in Perls are called hashes.
Hashes are different from arrays because:
Array use numeric subscripts; hashes use string

values as keys.
Arrays are ordered by subscript; hashes are not
really ordered.
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Hash names begin with %.
Initializing Hashes
using a list:
%kids_age= ( "John" => 38, "Genny" = 36,
"Jake" => 22, "Darcie" => 21 );
assigning an array to a hash:
the even subscripts are the hashes, and

the odd subscripts are the values:
@arr = (3, 5, 6, 99);
%agehash = @arr ;
is equivalent to
%agehash = ("3" => 5, "6" => 99);
Referencing a Hash Element
An individual value element of a hash can be referenced by

using the hash name along with the appropriate key. Curley
braces are used:
$myAge = $arrAge{"Abhishek"};
values are added by assigning the new element value
with its key:

$arrAge{"Aishwarys"} = 20;
Removing Hash Elements
Remove at a given key :

delete $arrAge{"Genny"};
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An entire hash can be set to empty by 2 methods:

Assigning to an empty list:
%arrAge = ( );
using the undef ("undefine") operator:

undef %arrAge;
Working With Hashes
exist operator: used to determine if an element with a

specific
key value is in the hash:
if ( exists $arrAge { "Freddie" } )
values operator: Extract hash values only
keys operator: Extract hash keys only
Example
foreach $child ( keys %arrAge)

{
print ( "The age of $child is $arrAge { $child } \n" );
}
@allAges = values
%arrAge;
print "All of the ages are @ages \n";

Create a hash table in perl containing at least five entries
of pair of car models and company as keys and values
respectively. Write perl program to read a car model and
print its company. Print all entries in a hash table.
--10
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Environmental Variables
%ENV is a predefined hash that stores operating systems

environmental variables
it store information about the system on which Perl is running.
The environmental variables can be accessed by any Perl program,
where the keys are the variable names. They can be accessed:
foreach $key (sort keys %ENV)
{
print "$key = $ENV{$key} \n";
}
Write a perl program to display various server information like server

name, server protocol, and CGI version.
---10
#!C:\perl\bin\perl.exe
print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";
print "<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN'
'http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd'> \n";
print "<html xmlns = 'http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml' > \n";

print "<head>
<title>
About this server
</title> </head> \n";
print "<body> <h1> About this server </h1>" , "\n";

print "<hr>";
print "Server name :", $ENV{ 'SERVER_NAME' } ,"<br>" ;
print "Running on port :", $ENV{ 'SERVER_PORT' } , "<br>" ;
print "Server Software :", $ENV{ 'SERVER_SOFTWARE' } , "<br>" ;
print "CGI-Revision : " , $ENV{ 'GATEWAY_INTERFACE' } , "<br>" ;
print "<hr> \n";
print "</body></html> \n";
References
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The Basics of Perl
A reference is a scalar variable that references another

variable or a literal (i.e., it's an address).
Similar to pointers in C/C++, but are safer to use.
A reference is obtained by the backslash operator before
variable name:
$age = 42;
$ref_age = \$age;
@names = ("Curly", "Larry", "Moe");
$ref_names = \@names
References to Literals
A reference to a list literal can be created by putting the literal

value in square brackets:
$ref_salaries
= [42500, 29800, 50000, 35250];
A reference to a hash literal is created by putting the literal
value in braces:
$ref_ages = { 'Curly' => 41,
'Larry' => 38,
'Moe' => 43 };
Dereferencing
A reference can be used to specify two values: its own (which is an
address) and the value stored at that address. The latter is called
dereferencing.
All dereferencing in Perl is explicit. This can be done by placing a
extra $ in fron of the variable's name:
$$ref_names[3] = "Maxine";
This can also be done by using the -> operator:
$ref_names -> [3] = "Maxine";
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Describe basics of perl functions.
--7
Functions
A function definition includes the function header and a block
of code that specifies its actions.
No parameters and No return-type of the result is specified.

The header contains the reserved word sub and the functions
name.
A function declaration tells the compiler that a function with a

given name will be defined elsewhere.
Functions that return values can be used in an expression.

Functions that do not return anything can be standalone
statements.
Example:
sub message
{
print "Hello!\n";
}
Global Variables:
Variables that appear only in a function and that are implicitly
declared are global.
Local Variables:
You can force variables to be local by using the word my or
local in front of the variable:
local $count = 0;
my $age = 30;
my($count, $sum) = (0, 0);
When local and global variables conflict in name, we use the local
variable.
[Type text]
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Parameters Passing ( Two mthods)
Passing by value
a copy of the parameters values are given to the function.
(one-way communication)
If changes do not need to be shared with the main
program, passing by value is preferable.
Passing by reference
a copy of the values addresses are given to the function.
(two-way communication)
Passing by value
All Perl parameters are passed through a special variable
called @_ .
The actual parameters are copied into @_.
If an array is a parameter, it is also copied into @_ (and
should be at the end of the parameter list).
Hashes are flattened into arrays.
@_ is passed by value.
Examples
sub add
{
$result = $_[0] + $_[1];
print "The result was: $result\n";
}
To call the subroutine and get a result:
add(1,2);
sub add
{
($numbera, $numberb) = @_;
[Type text]
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$result = $numbera + $numberb;

}
The shift function returns (and removes) the first element of an array.
sub add
{
my $num1 = shift;
my $num2 = shift;
my $result = $num1 + $num2;
}
Returning value
sub myfunc
{
if (@_)
{
return $_[0]+$_[1];
}
else
{
return 0;
}
}
Passing by reference
References to variables can be used as actual parameters,
which provides a pass by reference mechanism.
sub squeeze
{
my $ref_LIST = $_[0];
my $value, @new;
foreach $value ( @$ref_list )
{
if ($value > 0) {
push(@new, $values);
}
[Type text]
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}
}
function call:
squeeze( \@mylist );
[Type text]
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The sort Function, Revisited

Sort compares members of an array as if they were string
(coercing numeric values if necessary).

This can be changed by giving it an explicit block of code
that specifies what comparison to use:
#sort numbers in ascending order
@new_list = sort {$a <=> $b} @list;

#sort numbers in descending order
@new_list = sort {$b <=> $a} @list;

#sort strings in descending order
@new_list = sort { $b cmp $a } @list;
An Example tst_median.pl
# program to test a function that computes the median of a given array
# Parameter: A reference to an array of numbers
# Return value: The median of the array, where median is the middle element
# of the sorted array, if the length is odd; if the length is even, the median
# is the average of the two middle elements of the sorted array.
sub median
{
my $ref_List = $_[0];
$len = $#$ref_List + 1; #>>Compute the length
my @list = sort { $a <=> $b } @$ref_List; #>>Sort the array
if( $len % 2 == 1) # length is odd return
{
$list[$len/2]; #return middle element as median
}
else # length is even
{
return ( $list [ $len / 2 ] + $list [ $len / 2 1 ] ) / 2;

#>>> return the average of the two middle
elements of the sorted array.
}
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#>>> Begin main program: Create two test arrays
@list1 = (5, 6, 8, 0, 9);

@list2 = (11, 29, 8, 18);
#>>> creates array with odd elements

#>>> creates array with even elements
$med = median ( \@list1 ); #>>> Call median by passing reference
print "The median of the first array is $med \n";

$med = median ( \@list2 );
#>>>Call median by passing reference
print "The median of the second array is $med \n";

-------------------------------------------explain the basics of pattern matching in perl, and also
explain substitution and transliterate operators.
--10
Pattern Matching
Perl has following powerful pattern-matching features
1. Pattern-matching operator: m (won't be using explicitly).

2. pattern between slashes,
match implicitly against the implicit variable $_:
if ( /rabbit/ )
{
print
"rabbit appears in $_\n";
The binding operator =~ matches a variable against the pattern:

if ($str =~ /^rabbit/)
{
print "$str begins with rabbit\n"
}
Substitutions
Sometimes we may wish to alter a string that we are saving; we can

do this using the substitute operator: s/Pattern/NewString/
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Example
$str = "It ain't going to rain no more";

$str =~ s/ain't/is not/;
Substitutions With Modifiers
g modifier: tells to make changes for all occurrence, not just first.
$str = "Roser, Is it Rose, rose or ROSE
$str =~ s/Rose/rose/g;
# changes only two names.
i modifier: tells the substitute operator to ignore case of letters:

$str = "Is it Rose, rose or ROSE
$str =~ s/Rose/rose/ig;
# changes all three to lower case.
The Transliterate Operator - tr
replace a character (or a class of characters) with another character

(or class of characters):
$str =~ tr/;/:/ ;
# replace semi-colons with colons
$str =~ tr/A-Z/a-z/;
# translate upper to lower case
$str =~ tr/\,\.//;
# remove all commas and periods
More About split

split divide a string based on different separators defined in pattern
using regular expressions.
Example
@words = split /[ . , ]\s*/, $str

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$str will be divided into

strings separated by a blank, period or comma followed by any whitespace.
word_table.pl
# word_table.pl
# Input: A file of text in which all words are separated by
#
( whitespace, comma, a semicolon, a question mark , an
#
exclamation point, a period or a colon) may follow whitespace.
#
The input file is specified on the command line.
# Output: A list of all unique words in the input file, in alphabetical order.
#>>> Main loop to get and process lines of input text
while (<>)
{
@line_words = split /[\.,;:!\?]\s*/;
#>>> Split the lines into words
foreach $word ( @line_words ) #>>> Loop to count the words

{
if (exists $freq{$word})
{
$freq{$word} ++;
}
else
{
$freq{$word} = 1;
}
}
}
print "\nWord \t\t
Frequency \n\n";
foreach $word (sort keys %freq) #>>> Display the words and their frequencies
{
print " $word \t\t $freq{$word} \n";
}
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Remembering Matches
Parts of a string can be divided up among implicit variables:

"4 July 1776" =~ /(\d+) (\w+) (\d+)/;
print "$2
#will display
$1, $3\n";
July 4, 1776
It can be very useful to match a pattern and save the portions of the
string before the match, matching the pattern and after the match.
These are $`(before), $& (matching) and $'(after).
An Example
$str = "This is a rabbit test\n";

$str =~ /rabbit/;
print "Before match: $` \n;
print "Present match: $& \n ;
print After match: $' \n";
output:
Before match: This is a
Present match: rabbit
After match: test
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Explain file handling in perl. Explain how files can be opened for
input and output in perl. 07
Explain file handling in perl with examples. --10
File Input and Output
Files are references by using filehandles, whose names do

NOT begin with special characters and are usually written in
uppercase for greater readability.
The connection between external name and filehandle are
established using the open function:
open( FileHandle, "FileUseSpecifier FileName" );
File Use Specifiers
Character(s)
<
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Meaning
Input (the default)

Page 35
>
>>
Output, starting at the beginning of

the file
Output, starting at the end of the
existing data on the file
+>
Input from and output to the file
Using a File An Example

open (INDAT. "<temperatures")
#Open the file for input.
or die "Error unable to open temperatures $!";

#If it won't open, terminate and print the error message

# Print a line of output
print OUTDAT "The result is: $result \n";
#Read one line of input
$next_line = <INDAT>;
#using file handler
Reading Multiple Lines of Input
The read function:
used to read multiple lines of input into a scalar variable.
read ( filehandle, buffer, length [, offset] );

This will read length bytes into scalar variable buffer.
If offset is used, it will begin offset bytes after the file pointer.
Example
$chars = read (ANIMALS, $buf, 255);

Using split
The lines of text in the buffer can be separated using split:
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@lines = split /\n/, $buf;
using seek
Some applications seek to re-write data that has just been read.
This requires the use of the +> file use specification and then
moving back to the beginning of the data just read using seek.
Syntax
seek (filehandle, offset, base);

The base is
0 (beginning of file), 1 (current position), 2 (end of file)
Example
seek(UPDAT, 240, 0);
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Introduction to Web Technologies

The Basics of Perl

Advanced Web Design

Unit 8 The Basics of Perl

Introduction to Web Technologies

The Basics of Perl

Origins and Uses of Perl

Statements end with semicolon ;

Comments start with #

Introduction to Web Technologies

The Basics of Perl

1. scalar variables - begin with $.

2. vector (Array) variables - begin with @.

3. hash (Associative Array) variables - begins with %.

Introduction to Web Technologies

The Basics of Perl

how can a perl variable acts as string and number?

Perl is a weakly typed language, meaning that a "variable" could

perl variable as number

Perl uses double-precision floating point values for calculation.

$a =1000 #integer values

perl variable as string

Perl defines string as a sequence of characters.

Integers can be written in hexadecimal by preceding

Introduction to Web Technologies

The Basics of Perl

Cant include: escape sequences such as \n.

Include: a single quote \'.

single quotes can be replaced by other delimiter using "q"

can include special characters (such as \n).

A double quote can be embedded by preceding it with

A different delimited can be used proceeding with qq.

A null string is written as ' ' or " ".

The text is executed as a separate process, and the output

Introduction to Web Technologies

The Basics of Perl

Quote and Quote-like Operators

* unless the delimiter is ''.

Scalar Variables: Rules

Variable names are case sensitive, so

Convention: programmer names in Perl should not use uppercase.

If variables names are included in double- quoted string, the

Introduction to Web Technologies

The Basics of Perl

$myString has the value: "Jack is 47 years old"

Declaring Scalar Variables

rarely declared explicitly;

done implicitly when a value is assigned to the variable.

Scalar variables that have not been assigned a value by the

Perl has several predefined, or implicit, variables,

Set in many situations such as reading from

Name of the file currently being executed.

Version of Perl being used.

Contains the parameters passed to a

Contains the command line arguments

Introduction to Web Technologies

The Basics of Perl

numeric operations are performed in double-precision floating point.

Concatenation is performed using the operator:

x is the repetition operator.

Introduction to Web Technologies

With example explain the string functions in perl.

The Basics of Perl