To: @@To@@
From: <gnat@frii.com> (Nathan Torkington)
Subject: WELCOME to comp.lang.perl.misc

Hello, 

This email is automatically sent to every new poster to
comp.lang.perl.misc.  You should only receive it once.  My apologies
if the program contacts you twice, perhaps at two different accounts.
This is not a flame, only an attempt to help newcomers get the most
out of the newsgroup.

If you are an experienced Perl programmer who simply has not posted
before, or have inadvertently cross-posted to comp.lang.perl.misc, I
apologize for inconveniencing you with this message.  Keep in mind
that it is intended to help inform newcomers and cut down on redundant
posts, which you then won't have to read.  Some of the resources in it
may prove useful to you anyway, however.

Please look at the following tips, which will often answer your
questions without the need to post at all.  Every post to the
newsgroup consumes the time and effort of readers all over the world,
and your cooperation is essential to make the newsgroup useful for
everyone.

Thanks! 

* * * 

1. Perl 5.003 is the latest and most stable version of Perl.  Many
bugs have been fixed with this release, several useful new features
added, and much more documentation has been provided.  You can
download it as
	http://www.perl.com/CPAN/src/latest.tar.gz
(look in ftp://ftp.perl.com/perl/ for a list of FTP-based mirrors)

2. comp.lang.perl.misc is for questions on the Perl language.  Try
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi for questions on the CGI part of
CGI scripts.  The two leading blocks of reusable code for CGI purposes
are CGI.pm, at
	http://www.genome.wi.mit.edu/ftp/pub/software/WWW/cgi_docs.html
and cgi-lib.pl, at
	http://www.bio.cam.ac.uk/cgi-lib/
You might also want to check out libwww-perl at
	http://www.ics.uci.edu/pub/websoft/libwww-perl/
If you are having problems with a CGI script, look through
	http://www.perl.com/perl/faq/idiots-guide.html

3. Are you using the following?
	#!/usr/bin/perl -w
	use diagnostics;
	use strict;
"-w" turns on all sorts of warnings about probable errors (see the
perldiag manpage), "use diagnostics" causes the "-w" warnings to be
explained in greater detail (with the explanations from the perldiag
manpage), and "use strict" generates compile and run-time errors for
certain unsafe variable, reference and subroutine constructs (see the
strict manpage)

4. Are you checking the return values from the functions built in to
perl?  Most of the file and system functions set $! and have return
values that you can test thus:
	open(PASSWD, "</etc/passwd") or
		die "error opening /etc/passwd: $!\n";
$! will contain an error message that will give you more information
on where your program is going wrong.  The perlfunc man page will give
you more information on the return values from functions.

5. Have you read the Perl FAQ?  Many questions on sockets programming,
an important and common problem with Solaris, text manipulation and
the jargon of perl are answered in the FAQ.  As well as being posted
regularly to comp.lang.perl.misc, the FAQ is on the web at:
	http://www.perl.com/perl/nmanual/pod/perlfaq.html

6. Have you read the man pages?  Here are some subjects and the man
pages to look in:
	Objects		perlref, perlmod, perlobj, perltie
	Data Structures	perlref, perllol, perldsc
	Modules		perlmod, perlsub
	Regexps		perlre, perlfunc, perlop
			http://www.perl.com/CPAN/doc/FMTEYEWTK/index.html
			(not a man-page but still useful)
	Moving to perl5	perltrap, perl
	Linking w/C	perlxstut, perlxs, perlcall, perlguts, perlembed
The man page for "perltoc" provides a crude table of contents for the
perl man page set.

7. Have you looked at http://www.perl.com/perl ?  This is a great
online reference, with documentation, pointers to modules in the
Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN), articles on the inner
workings of many bits of Perl, and more.

7.5. Have you checked to see if a Perl module satisfies your needs?
Many reusable modules are available for immediate download and use.
See http://www.perl.com/CPAN/modules/00modlist.long.html for details.

8. Have you tried archives of Usenet?  http://www.dejanews.com/
maintains an archive of postings to Usenet dating from March, 1995.
Be sure to include "Perl" in your search.

9. The latest version of the "Camel Book" ("Programming Perl"),
updated for version 5.003, is available from your bookstore or from
http://www.ora.com/

10. Remember, USENET newsgroups are based on the idea of mutual aid.
USENET only works if we put as much into it as we get out of it.  Good
luck with your Perl work.

-Nathan Torkington, Perl mini-FAQ maintainer