=head1 NAME
-perlfaq - frequently asked questions about Perl ($Date: 2003/01/31 17:37:17 $)
+perlfaq - frequently asked questions about Perl
=head1 DESCRIPTION
-The perlfaq is divided into several documents based on topics. A table
-of contents is at the end of this document.
+The perlfaq comprises several documents that answer the most commonly
+asked questions about Perl and Perl programming. It's divided by topic
+into nine major sections outlined in this document.
=head2 Where to get the perlfaq
-Extracts of the perlfaq are posted regularly to
-comp.lang.perl.misc. It is available on many web sites:
-http://www.perldoc.com/ and http://faq.perl.org/
+The perlfaq comes with the standard Perl distribution, so if you have Perl
+you should have the perlfaq. You should also have the C<perldoc> tool
+that let's you read the L<perlfaq>:
-=head2 How to contribute to the perlfaq
+ $ perldoc perlfaq
-You may mail corrections, additions, and suggestions to
-perlfaq-workers@perl.org . This alias should not be used to
-I<ask> FAQs. It's for fixing the current FAQ. Send
-questions to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup. You can
-view the source tree at http://cvs.perl.org/cvsweb/perlfaq/
-(which is outside of the main Perl source tree). The CVS
-repository notes all changes to the FAQ.
+Besides your local system, you can find the perlfaq on the web, including
+at http://perldoc.perl.org/ .
-=head2 What will happen if you mail your Perl programming problems to the authors
+The perlfaq is an evolving document and you can read the latest version
+at http://faq.perl.org/ . The perlfaq-workers periodically post extracts
+of the latest perlfaq to comp.lang.perl.misc.
-Your questions will probably go unread, unless they're
-suggestions of new questions to add to the FAQ, in which
-case they should have gone to the perlfaq-workers@perl.org
-instead.
+You can view the source tree at
+https://svn.perl.org/modules/perlfaq/trunk/ (which is outside of the
+main Perl source tree). The SVN repository notes all changes to the FAQ
+and holds the latest version of the working documents and may vary
+significantly from the version distributed with the latest version of
+Perl. Check the repository before sending your corrections.
-You should have read section 2 of this faq. There you would
-have learned that comp.lang.perl.misc is the appropriate
-place to go for free advice. If your question is really
-important and you require a prompt and correct answer, you
-should hire a consultant.
+=head2 How to contribute to the perlfaq
-=head1 Credits
+You can mail corrections, additions, and suggestions to
+C<< <perlfaq-workers AT perl DOT org> >>. The perlfaq volunteers use this
+address to coordinate their efforts and track the perlfaq development.
+They appreciate your contributions to the FAQ but do not have time to
+provide individual help, so don't use this address to ask FAQs.
-The original perlfaq was written by Tom Christiansen, then expanded
-by collaboration between Tom and Nathan Torkington. The current
-document is maintained by the perlfaq-workers (perlfaq-workers@perl.org).
-Several people have contributed answers, corrections, and comments.
+The perlfaq server posts extracts of the perlfaq to that newsgroup every
+6 hours (or so), and the community of volunteers reviews and updates the
+answers. If you'd like to help review and update the answers, check out
+comp.lang.perl.misc.
-=head1 Author and Copyright Information
+=head2 What will happen if you mail your Perl programming problems to the authors?
-Copyright (c) 1997-2003 Tom Christiansen, Nathan Torkington, and
-other contributors noted in the answers.
+The perlfaq-workers like to keep all traffic on the perlfaq-workers list
+so that everyone can see the work being done (and the work that needs to
+be done). The mailing list serves as an official record. If you email the
+authors or maintainers directly, you'll probably get a reply asking you
+to post to the mailing list. If you don't get a reply, it probably means
+that the person never saw the message or didn't have time to deal with
+it. Posting to the list allows the volunteers with time to deal with it
+when others are busy.
-All rights reserved.
+If you have a question that isn't in the FAQ and you would like help with
+it, try the resources in L<perlfaq2>.
-=head2 Bundled Distributions
+=head1 CREDITS
-This documentation is free; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
-under the same terms as Perl itself.
+Tom Christiansen wrote the original perlfaq then expanded it with the
+help of Nat Torkington. The perlfaq-workers maintain current document
+and the dezinens of comp.lang.perl.misc regularly review and update the
+FAQ. Several people have contributed answers, corrections, and comments,
+and the perlfaq notes those contributions wherever appropriate.
-Irrespective of its distribution, all code examples in these files
-are hereby placed into the public domain. You are permitted and
-encouraged to use this code in your own programs for fun
-or for profit as you see fit. A simple comment in the code giving
-credit would be courteous but is not required.
+=head1 AUTHOR AND COPYRIGHT
-=head2 Disclaimer
+Tom Christainsen wrote the original version of this document.
+brian d foy C<< <bdfoy@cpan.org> >> wrote this version. See the
+individual perlfaq documents for additional copyright information.
-This information is offered in good faith and in the hope that it may
-be of use, but is not guaranteed to be correct, up to date, or suitable
-for any particular purpose whatsoever. The authors accept no liability
-in respect of this information or its use.
+This document is available under the same terms as Perl itself. Code
+examples in all the perlfaq documents are in the public domain. Use
+them as you see fit (and at your own risk with no warranty from anyone).
=head1 Table of Contents
=item perlfaq9 - Networking
-
=back
-
=head1 The Questions
=head2 L<perlfaq1>: General Questions About Perl
=item *
-What are perl4 and perl5?
+What are perl4, perl5, or perl6?
+
+=item *
+
+What was Ponie?
=item *
=item *
-How can I convince my sysadmin/supervisor/employees to use version 5/5.6.1/Perl instead of some other language?
+How can I convince others to use Perl?
=back
=head2 L<perlfaq2>: Obtaining and Learning about Perl
-Where to find source and documentation for Perl, support,
-and related matters.
+Where to find source and documentation for Perl, support, and related matters.
=over 4
=item *
-What machines support Perl? Where do I get it?
+What machines support perl? Where do I get it?
=item *
-How can I get a binary version of Perl?
+How can I get a binary version of perl?
=item *
-I don't have a C compiler on my system. How can I compile perl?
+I don't have a C compiler. How can I build my own Perl interpreter?
=item *
-I copied the Perl binary from one machine to another, but scripts don't work.
+I copied the perl binary from one machine to another, but scripts don't work.
=item *
=item *
-Perl in Magazines
-
-=item *
-
-Perl on the Net: FTP and WWW Access
+Which magazines have Perl content?
=item *
=item *
-Archives of comp.lang.perl.misc
+Where are the archives for comp.lang.perl.misc?
=item *
-Where can I buy a commercial version of Perl?
+Where can I buy a commercial version of perl?
=item *
=item *
-How can I generate simple menus without using CGI or Tk?
-
-=item *
-
How can I make my Perl program run faster?
=item *
=item *
-How can I compile Perl into Java?
-
-=item *
-
How can I get C<#!perl> to work on [MS-DOS,NT,...]?
=item *
=item *
-Where can I learn about linking C with Perl? [h2xs, xsubpp]
+Where can I learn about linking C with Perl?
=item *
-I've read perlembed, perlguts, etc., but I can't embed perl in
-my C program; what am I doing wrong?
+I've read perlembed, perlguts, etc., but I can't embed perl in my C program; what am I doing wrong?
=item *
=head2 L<perlfaq4>: Data Manipulation
-Manipulating numbers, dates, strings, arrays, hashes, and
-miscellaneous data issues.
+Manipulating numbers, dates, strings, arrays, hashes, and miscellaneous data issues.
=over 4
=item *
+Why is int() broken?
+
+=item *
+
Why isn't my octal data interpreted correctly?
=item *
=item *
-How do I convert between numeric representations?
+How do I convert between numeric representations/bases/radixes?
=item *
=item *
-Does Perl have a Year 2000 problem? Is Perl Y2K compliant?
+Does Perl have a Year 2000 problem? Is Perl Y2K compliant?
=item *
=item *
-How do I change one line in a file/delete a line in a file/insert a line in the middle of a file/append to the beginning of a file?
+How do I change, delete, or insert a line in a file, or append to the beginning of a file?
=item *
=item *
+How can I copy a file?
+
+=item *
+
How do I make a temporary file name?
=item *
=item *
-Why can't I use "C:\temp\foo" in DOS paths? What doesn't `C:\temp\foo.exe` work?
+Why can't I use "C:\temp\foo" in DOS paths? Why doesn't `C:\temp\foo.exe` work?
=item *
=head2 L<perlfaq6>: Regular Expressions
-Pattern matching and regular expressions.
+This section is surprisingly small because the rest of the FAQ is littered with answers involving regular expressions. For example, decoding a URL and checking whether something is a number are handled with regular expressions, but those answers are found elsewhere in this document (in L<perlfaq9>: "How do I decode or create those %-encodings on the web" and L<perlfaq4>: "How do I determine whether a scalar is a number/whole/integer/float", to be precise).
=over 4
=item *
-What's wrong with using grep or map in a void context?
+What's wrong with using grep in a void context?
=item *
=item *
-How do I match a pattern that is supplied by the user?
+How do I match a regular expression that's in a variable?
=back
=head2 L<perlfaq7>: General Perl Language Issues
-General Perl language issues that don't clearly fit into any of the
-other sections.
+General Perl language issues that don't clearly fit into any of the other sections.
=over 4
=head2 L<perlfaq8>: System Interaction
-Interprocess communication (IPC), control over the user-interface
-(keyboard, screen and pointing devices).
+This section of the Perl FAQ covers questions involving operating system interaction. Topics include interprocess communication (IPC), control over the user-interface (keyboard, screen and pointing devices), and most anything else not related to data manipulation. Read the FAQs and documentation specific to the port of perl to your operating system (eg, L<perlvms>, L<perlplan9>, ...). These should contain more detailed information on the vagaries of your perl.
=over 4
=item *
+How do I tell the difference between errors from the shell and perl?
+
+=item *
+
How do I install a module from CPAN?
=item *
=item *
-How do I add a directory to my include path at runtime?
+How do I add a directory to my include path (@INC) at runtime?
=item *
=item *
-How do I make a pop-up menu in HTML?
+How do I make an HTML pop-up menu with Perl?
=item *
=item *
-How do I find out my hostname/domainname/IP address?
+How do I find out my hostname, domainname, or IP address?
=item *
https://perl5.git.perl.org / perl5.git / blobdiff