http://qs321.pair.com?node_id=89333
kiat's user image
User since: Jun 18, 2001 at 19:25 UTC (23 years ago)
Last here: May 26, 2009 at 15:04 UTC (15 years ago)
Experience: 6308
Level:Vicar (15)
Writeups: 500
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User's localtime: Mar 29, 2024 at 14:18 +08
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HOW I GOT HERE

Actually, I don't remember. I probably googled my way here. My very first post using 'my' says I landed here on Jun 22, 2001 at 01:48 GMT-8. Ah, that was three years ago. Time does fly...

IN THE BEGINNING

My first encounter with Perl was a CGI s‎crip‎t I got from the Internet. Although I had done some Java prior to that, the Perl code looked scary. I thought I would never understand what was going on. But I did manage to use that s‎crip‎t almost unchanged after some struggle.

CGI was synonymous with Perl then, around 1999. I decided I had to learn perl somehow.

I started with tiny programs to learn about perl's syntax and constructs, usually with a book by my side.

Gradually, I experimented with writing s‎crip‎ts that did some real work — like reading a file and performing simple computations.

I wrote horrible Perl code. I still do but it's not as bad now. I was fond of writing code from beginning to end without a single sub. Maybe I was too lazy, I don't know.

Oh, I had code like this:

foreach $_ (@items) { print "$_\n"; }
Fortunately, I don't have to maintain any of my old code because they aren't in use any more.

WHAT DO I USE PERL FOR

Mainly for web programming. I started learning MySQL at the end of 2003. Since then, I have been using perl with MySQL to do dynamic websites.

Before MySQL, I was using flat files for the database. I got quite paranoid after a while and asked the monks here about what they thought of flat files.

I received very good advice but didn't make a switch immediately. The flat files worked just fine at that time. Also, I knew nothing about databases, much less to get Perl to work with one. So I was hesitant to use a proper database system.

The crunch came when I helped a friend create a site that required the use of databases. I didn't enjoy reading those database books because they were mostly theoretical. I also read up on MySQL, which was more enjoyable because at least I could experiment with simple SQL statements and see the results.

Sure, it wasn't easy for me but it was rewarding in the end when things finally worked — perl and MySQL for the web.

PERLMONKS

Without this great site, my relationship with perl might not have lasted. I've not touched java for over two years but I'm still with perl after 4-5 years. It's the smell of the camel no doubt but this community certainly makes half the difference. I received lots of great help. I'm not afraid to dream with perl because I know no matter what problems I face, I can find solutions here.

A zillion thanks to all of you out there!

My Finding the max()/min()
Security techniques every programmer should know
Copy perl module to webhost
Chat server impossible with Perl?
A guide to installing modules for Win32
LWP Upload a file with a progress indicator
avoiding excessive number of methods in CGI::Application and DBI modules
More than mod_cgi less than mod_perl.
Shipping a Perl/Tk App
Storing credit card numbers temporarily (OT)
CGI::Application - why?
When should I use a dispatch table?
Getting Fed Up with ActiveState