[9767] in Perl-Users-Digest
Perl-Users Digest, Issue: 3360 Volume: 8
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Perl-Users Digest)
Wed Aug 5 09:17:18 1998
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 98 06:07:49 -0700
From: Perl-Users Digest <Perl-Users-Request@ruby.OCE.ORST.EDU>
To: Perl-Users@ruby.OCE.ORST.EDU (Perl-Users Digest)
Perl-Users Digest Wed, 5 Aug 1998 Volume: 8 Number: 3360
Today's topics:
perlfaq7 - Perl Language Issues (part 7 of 9) <perlfaq-suggestions@mox.perl.com>
Special: Digest Administrivia (Last modified: 12 Mar 98 (Perl-Users-Digest Admin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 5 Aug 1998 12:30:17 GMT
From: Tom Christiansen <perlfaq-suggestions@mox.perl.com>
Subject: perlfaq7 - Perl Language Issues (part 7 of 9)
Message-Id: <6q9j8p$2a1$1@csnews.cs.colorado.edu>
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The following document was generated from its original pod using |
| the pod2text program included with the standard perl release, plus |
| small cosmetic mark-ups. The FAQ is also distributed with all Perl |
| releases as standard manpages; their latest versions can be retrieved |
| from http://language.perl.com/misc/faqs.tar.gz if you'd like. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
NAME
perlfaq7 - Perl Language Issues ($Revision: 1.21 $, $Date:
1998/06/22 15:20:07 $)
DESCRIPTION
This section deals with general Perl language issues that don't
clearly fit into any of the other sections.
Can I get a BNF/yacc/RE for the Perl language?
There is no BNF, but you can paw your way through the yacc grammar
in perly.y in the source distribution if you're particularly brave.
The grammar relies on very smart tokenizing code, so be prepared to
venture into toke.c as well.
In the words of Chaim Frenkel: "Perl's grammar can not be reduced
to BNF. The work of parsing perl is distributed between yacc, the
lexer, smoke and mirrors."
What are all these $@%* punctuation signs, and how do I know when to
use them?
They are type specifiers, as detailed in the perldata manpage:
$ for scalar values (number, string or reference)
@ for arrays
% for hashes (associative arrays)
* for all types of that symbol name. In version 4 you used them like
pointers, but in modern perls you can just use references.
While there are a few places where you don't actually need these
type specifiers, you should always use them.
A couple of others that you're likely to encounter that aren't
really type specifiers are:
<> are used for inputting a record from a filehandle.
\ takes a reference to something.
Note that <FILE> is *neither* the type specifier for files nor the
name of the handle. It is the `<>' operator applied to the handle
FILE. It reads one line (well, record - see the section on "$/" in
the perlvar manpage) from the handle FILE in scalar context, or
*all* lines in list context. When performing open, close, or any
other operation besides `<>' on files, or even talking about the
handle, do *not* use the brackets. These are correct: `eof(FH)',
`seek(FH, 0, 2)' and "copying from STDIN to FILE".
Do I always/never have to quote my strings or use semicolons and commas?
Normally, a bareword doesn't need to be quoted, but in most cases
probably should be (and must be under `use strict'). But a hash key
consisting of a simple word (that isn't the name of a defined
subroutine) and the left-hand operand to the `=>' operator both
count as though they were quoted:
This is like this
------------ ---------------
$foo{line} $foo{"line"}
bar => stuff "bar" => stuff
The final semicolon in a block is optional, as is the final comma
in a list. Good style (see the perlstyle manpage) says to put them
in except for one-liners:
if ($whoops) { exit 1 }
@nums = (1, 2, 3);
if ($whoops) {
exit 1;
}
@lines = (
"There Beren came from mountains cold",
"And lost he wandered under leaves",
);
How do I skip some return values?
One way is to treat the return values as a list and index into it:
$dir = (getpwnam($user))[7];
Another way is to use undef as an element on the left-hand-side:
($dev, $ino, undef, undef, $uid, $gid) = stat($file);
How do I temporarily block warnings?
The `$^W' variable (documented in the perlvar manpage) controls
runtime warnings for a block:
{
local $^W = 0; # temporarily turn off warnings
$a = $b + $c; # I know these might be undef
}
Note that like all the punctuation variables, you cannot currently
use my() on `$^W', only local().
A new `use warnings' pragma is in the works to provide finer
control over all this. The curious should check the perl5-porters
mailing list archives for details.
What's an extension?
A way of calling compiled C code from Perl. Reading the perlxstut
manpage is a good place to learn more about extensions.
Why do Perl operators have different precedence than C operators?
Actually, they don't. All C operators that Perl copies have the
same precedence in Perl as they do in C. The problem is with
operators that C doesn't have, especially functions that give a
list context to everything on their right, eg print, chmod, exec,
and so on. Such functions are called "list operators" and appear as
such in the precedence table in the perlop manpage.
A common mistake is to write:
unlink $file || die "snafu";
This gets interpreted as:
unlink ($file || die "snafu");
To avoid this problem, either put in extra parentheses or use the
super low precedence `or' operator:
(unlink $file) || die "snafu";
unlink $file or die "snafu";
The "English" operators (`and', `or', `xor', and `not')
deliberately have precedence lower than that of list operators for
just such situations as the one above.
Another operator with surprising precedence is exponentiation. It
binds more tightly even than unary minus, making `-2**2' product a
negative not a positive four. It is also right-associating, meaning
that `2**3**2' is two raised to the ninth power, not eight squared.
Although it has the same precedence as in C, Perl's `?:' operator
produces an lvalue. This assigns $x to either $a or $b, depending
on the trueness of $maybe:
($maybe ? $a : $b) = $x;
How do I declare/create a structure?
In general, you don't "declare" a structure. Just use a (probably
anonymous) hash reference. See the perlref manpage and the perldsc
manpage for details. Here's an example:
$person = {}; # new anonymous hash
$person->{AGE} = 24; # set field AGE to 24
$person->{NAME} = "Nat"; # set field NAME to "Nat"
If you're looking for something a bit more rigorous, try the
perltoot manpage.
How do I create a module?
A module is a package that lives in a file of the same name. For
example, the Hello::There module would live in Hello/There.pm. For
details, read the perlmod manpage. You'll also find the Exporter
manpage helpful. If you're writing a C or mixed-language module
with both C and Perl, then you should study the perlxstut manpage.
Here's a convenient template you might wish you use when starting
your own module. Make sure to change the names appropriately.
package Some::Module; # assumes Some/Module.pm
use strict;
BEGIN {
use Exporter ();
use vars qw($VERSION @ISA @EXPORT @EXPORT_OK %EXPORT_TAGS);
## set the version for version checking; uncomment to use
## $VERSION = 1.00;
# if using RCS/CVS, this next line may be preferred,
# but beware two-digit versions.
$VERSION = do{my@r=q$Revision: 1.21 $=~/\d+/g;sprintf '%d.'.'%02d'x$#r,@r};
@ISA = qw(Exporter);
@EXPORT = qw(&func1 &func2 &func3);
%EXPORT_TAGS = ( ); # eg: TAG => [ qw!name1 name2! ],
# your exported package globals go here,
# as well as any optionally exported functions
@EXPORT_OK = qw($Var1 %Hashit);
}
use vars @EXPORT_OK;
# non-exported package globals go here
use vars qw( @more $stuff );
# initialize package globals, first exported ones
$Var1 = '';
%Hashit = ();
# then the others (which are still accessible as $Some::Module::stuff)
$stuff = '';
@more = ();
# all file-scoped lexicals must be created before
# the functions below that use them.
# file-private lexicals go here
my $priv_var = '';
my %secret_hash = ();
# here's a file-private function as a closure,
# callable as &$priv_func; it cannot be prototyped.
my $priv_func = sub {
# stuff goes here.
};
# make all your functions, whether exported or not;
# remember to put something interesting in the {} stubs
sub func1 {} # no prototype
sub func2() {} # proto'd void
sub func3($$) {} # proto'd to 2 scalars
# this one isn't exported, but could be called!
sub func4(\%) {} # proto'd to 1 hash ref
END { } # module clean-up code here (global destructor)
1; # modules must return true
How do I create a class?
See the perltoot manpage for an introduction to classes and
objects, as well as the perlobj manpage and the perlbot manpage.
How can I tell if a variable is tainted?
See the section on "Laundering and Detecting Tainted Data" in the
perlsec manpage. Here's an example (which doesn't use any system
calls, because the kill() is given no processes to signal):
sub is_tainted {
return ! eval { join('',@_), kill 0; 1; };
}
This is not `-w' clean, however. There is no `-w' clean way to
detect taintedness - take this as a hint that you should untaint
all possibly-tainted data.
What's a closure?
Closures are documented in the perlref manpage.
*Closure* is a computer science term with a precise but hard-to-
explain meaning. Closures are implemented in Perl as anonymous
subroutines with lasting references to lexical variables outside
their own scopes. These lexicals magically refer to the variables
that were around when the subroutine was defined (deep binding).
Closures make sense in any programming language where you can have
the return value of a function be itself a function, as you can in
Perl. Note that some languages provide anonymous functions but are
not capable of providing proper closures; the Python language, for
example. For more information on closures, check out any textbook
on functional programming. Scheme is a language that not only
supports but encourages closures.
Here's a classic function-generating function:
sub add_function_generator {
return sub { shift + shift };
}
$add_sub = add_function_generator();
$sum = $add_sub->(4,5); # $sum is 9 now.
The closure works as a *function template* with some customization
slots left out to be filled later. The anonymous subroutine
returned by add_function_generator() isn't technically a closure
because it refers to no lexicals outside its own scope.
Contrast this with the following make_adder() function, in which
the returned anonymous function contains a reference to a lexical
variable outside the scope of that function itself. Such a
reference requires that Perl return a proper closure, thus locking
in for all time the value that the lexical had when the function
was created.
sub make_adder {
my $addpiece = shift;
return sub { shift + $addpiece };
}
$f1 = make_adder(20);
$f2 = make_adder(555);
Now `&$f1($n)' is always 20 plus whatever $n you pass in, whereas
`&$f2($n)' is always 555 plus whatever $n you pass in. The
$addpiece in the closure sticks around.
Closures are often used for less esoteric purposes. For example,
when you want to pass in a bit of code into a function:
my $line;
timeout( 30, sub { $line = <STDIN> } );
If the code to execute had been passed in as a string, `'$line =
<STDIN>'', there would have been no way for the hypothetical
timeout() function to access the lexical variable $line back in its
caller's scope.
What is variable suicide and how can I prevent it?
Variable suicide is when you (temporarily or permanently) lose the
value of a variable. It is caused by scoping through my() and
local() interacting with either closures or aliased foreach()
interator variables and subroutine arguments. It used to be easy to
inadvertently lose a variable's value this way, but now it's much
harder. Take this code:
my $f = "foo";
sub T {
while ($i++ < 3) { my $f = $f; $f .= "bar"; print $f, "\n" }
}
T;
print "Finally $f\n";
The $f that has "bar" added to it three times should be a new `$f'
(`my $f' should create a new local variable each time through the
loop). It isn't, however. This is a bug, and will be fixed.
How can I pass/return a {Function, FileHandle, Array, Hash, Method, Regexp}?
With the exception of regexps, you need to pass references to these
objects. See the section on "Pass by Reference" in the perlsub
manpage for this particular question, and the perlref manpage for
information on references.
Passing Variables and Functions
Regular variables and functions are quite easy: just pass in a
reference to an existing or anonymous variable or function:
func( \$some_scalar );
func( \$some_array );
func( [ 1 .. 10 ] );
func( \%some_hash );
func( { this => 10, that => 20 } );
func( \&some_func );
func( sub { $_[0] ** $_[1] } );
Passing Filehandles
To pass filehandles to subroutines, use the `*FH' or `\*FH'
notations. These are "typeglobs" - see the section on
"Typeglobs and Filehandles" in the perldata manpage and
especially the section on "Pass by Reference" in the perlsub
manpage for more information.
Here's an excerpt:
If you're passing around filehandles, you could usually just
use the bare typeglob, like *STDOUT, but typeglobs references
would be better because they'll still work properly under `use
strict 'refs''. For example:
splutter(\*STDOUT);
sub splutter {
my $fh = shift;
print $fh "her um well a hmmm\n";
}
$rec = get_rec(\*STDIN);
sub get_rec {
my $fh = shift;
return scalar <$fh>;
}
If you're planning on generating new filehandles, you could do
this:
sub openit {
my $name = shift;
local *FH;
return open (FH, $path) ? *FH : undef;
}
$fh = openit('< /etc/motd');
print <$fh>;
Passing Regexps
To pass regexps around, you'll need to either use one of the
highly experimental regular expression modules from CPAN (Nick
Ing-Simmons's Regexp or Ilya Zakharevich's Devel::Regexp), pass
around strings and use an exception-trapping eval, or else be
be very, very clever. Here's an example of how to pass in a
string to be regexp compared:
sub compare($$) {
my ($val1, $regexp) = @_;
my $retval = eval { $val =~ /$regexp/ };
die if $@;
return $retval;
}
$match = compare("old McDonald", q/d.*D/);
Make sure you never say something like this:
return eval "\$val =~ /$regexp/"; # WRONG
or someone can sneak shell escapes into the regexp due to the
double interpolation of the eval and the double-quoted string.
For example:
$pattern_of_evil = 'danger ${ system("rm -rf * &") } danger';
eval "\$string =~ /$pattern_of_evil/";
Those preferring to be very, very clever might see the O'Reilly
book, *Mastering Regular Expressions*, by Jeffrey Friedl. Page
273's Build_MatchMany_Function() is particularly interesting. A
complete citation of this book is given in the perlfaq2
manpage.
Passing Methods
To pass an object method into a subroutine, you can do this:
call_a_lot(10, $some_obj, "methname")
sub call_a_lot {
my ($count, $widget, $trick) = @_;
for (my $i = 0; $i < $count; $i++) {
$widget->$trick();
}
}
Or you can use a closure to bundle up the object and its method
call and arguments:
my $whatnot = sub { $some_obj->obfuscate(@args) };
func($whatnot);
sub func {
my $code = shift;
&$code();
}
You could also investigate the can() method in the UNIVERSAL
class (part of the standard perl distribution).
How do I create a static variable?
As with most things in Perl, TMTOWTDI. What is a "static variable"
in other languages could be either a function-private variable
(visible only within a single function, retaining its value between
calls to that function), or a file-private variable (visible only
to functions within the file it was declared in) in Perl.
Here's code to implement a function-private variable:
BEGIN {
my $counter = 42;
sub prev_counter { return --$counter }
sub next_counter { return $counter++ }
}
Now prev_counter() and next_counter() share a private variable
$counter that was initialized at compile time.
To declare a file-private variable, you'll still use a my(),
putting it at the outer scope level at the top of the file. Assume
this is in file Pax.pm:
package Pax;
my $started = scalar(localtime(time()));
sub begun { return $started }
When `use Pax' or `require Pax' loads this module, the variable
will be initialized. It won't get garbage-collected the way most
variables going out of scope do, because the begun() function cares
about it, but no one else can get it. It is not called
$Pax::started because its scope is unrelated to the package. It's
scoped to the file. You could conceivably have several packages in
that same file all accessing the same private variable, but another
file with the same package couldn't get to it.
See the section on "Peristent Private Variables" in the perlsub
manpage for details.
What's the difference between dynamic and lexical (static) scoping?
Between local() and my()?
`local($x)' saves away the old value of the global variable `$x',
and assigns a new value for the duration of the subroutine, *which
is visible in other functions called from that subroutine*. This is
done at run-time, so is called dynamic scoping. local() always
affects global variables, also called package variables or dynamic
variables.
`my($x)' creates a new variable that is only visible in the current
subroutine. This is done at compile-time, so is called lexical or
static scoping. my() always affects private variables, also called
lexical variables or (improperly) static(ly scoped) variables.
For instance:
sub visible {
print "var has value $var\n";
}
sub dynamic {
local $var = 'local'; # new temporary value for the still-global
visible(); # variable called $var
}
sub lexical {
my $var = 'private'; # new private variable, $var
visible(); # (invisible outside of sub scope)
}
$var = 'global';
visible(); # prints global
dynamic(); # prints local
lexical(); # prints global
Notice how at no point does the value "private" get printed. That's
because $var only has that value within the block of the lexical()
function, and it is hidden from called subroutine.
In summary, local() doesn't make what you think of as private,
local variables. It gives a global variable a temporary value. my()
is what you're looking for if you want private variables.
See the section on "Private Variables via my()" in the perlsub
manpage and the section on "Temporary Values via local()" in the
perlsub manpage for excruciating details.
How can I access a dynamic variable while a similarly named lexical
is in scope?
You can do this via symbolic references, provided you haven't set
`use strict "refs"'. So instead of $var, use `${'var'}'.
local $var = "global";
my $var = "lexical";
print "lexical is $var\n";
no strict 'refs';
print "global is ${'var'}\n";
If you know your package, you can just mention it explicitly, as in
$Some_Pack::var. Note that the notation $::var is *not* the dynamic
$var in the current package, but rather the one in the `main'
package, as though you had written $main::var. Specifying the
package directly makes you hard-code its name, but it executes
faster and avoids running afoul of `use strict "refs"'.
What's the difference between deep and shallow binding?
In deep binding, lexical variables mentioned in anonymous
subroutines are the same ones that were in scope when the
subroutine was created. In shallow binding, they are whichever
variables with the same names happen to be in scope when the
subroutine is called. Perl always uses deep binding of lexical
variables (i.e., those created with my()). However, dynamic
variables (aka global, local, or package variables) are effectively
shallowly bound. Consider this just one more reason not to use
them. See the answer to the section on "What's a closure?".
Why doesn't "my($foo) = <FILE>;" work right?
`my()' and `local()' give list context to the right hand side of
`='. The <FH> read operation, like so many of Perl's functions and
operators, can tell which context it was called in and behaves
appropriately. In general, the scalar() function can help. This
function does nothing to the data itself (contrary to popular myth)
but rather tells its argument to behave in whatever its scalar
fashion is. If that function doesn't have a defined scalar
behavior, this of course doesn't help you (such as with sort()).
To enforce scalar context in this particular case, however, you
need merely omit the parentheses:
local($foo) = <FILE>; # WRONG
local($foo) = scalar(<FILE>); # ok
local $foo = <FILE>; # right
You should probably be using lexical variables anyway, although the
issue is the same here:
my($foo) = <FILE>; # WRONG
my $foo = <FILE>; # right
How do I redefine a builtin function, operator, or method?
Why do you want to do that? :-)
If you want to override a predefined function, such as open(), then
you'll have to import the new definition from a different module.
See the section on "Overriding Builtin Functions" in the perlsub
manpage. There's also an example in the section on
"Class::Template" in the perltoot manpage.
If you want to overload a Perl operator, such as `+' or `**', then
you'll want to use the `use overload' pragma, documented in the
overload manpage.
If you're talking about obscuring method calls in parent classes,
see the section on "Overridden Methods" in the perltoot manpage.
What's the difference between calling a function as &foo and foo()?
When you call a function as `&foo', you allow that function access
to your current @_ values, and you by-pass prototypes. That means
that the function doesn't get an empty @_, it gets yours! While not
strictly speaking a bug (it's documented that way in the perlsub
manpage), it would be hard to consider this a feature in most
cases.
When you call your function as `&foo()', then you *do* get a new
@_, but prototyping is still circumvented.
Normally, you want to call a function using `foo()'. You may only
omit the parentheses if the function is already known to the
compiler because it already saw the definition (`use' but not
`require'), or via a forward reference or `use subs' declaration.
Even in this case, you get a clean @_ without any of the old values
leaking through where they don't belong.
How do I create a switch or case statement?
This is explained in more depth in the the perlsyn manpage.
Briefly, there's no official case statement, because of the variety
of tests possible in Perl (numeric comparison, string comparison,
glob comparison, regexp matching, overloaded comparisons, ...).
Larry couldn't decide how best to do this, so he left it out, even
though it's been on the wish list since perl1.
The general answer is to write a construct like this:
for ($variable_to_test) {
if (/pat1/) { } # do something
elsif (/pat2/) { } # do something else
elsif (/pat3/) { } # do something else
else { } # default
}
Here's a simple example of a switch based on pattern matching, this
time lined up in a way to make it look more like a switch
statement. We'll do a multi-way conditional based on the type of
reference stored in $whatchamacallit:
SWITCH: for (ref $whatchamacallit) {
/^$/ && die "not a reference";
/SCALAR/ && do {
print_scalar($$ref);
last SWITCH;
};
/ARRAY/ && do {
print_array(@$ref);
last SWITCH;
};
/HASH/ && do {
print_hash(%$ref);
last SWITCH;
};
/CODE/ && do {
warn "can't print function ref";
last SWITCH;
};
# DEFAULT
warn "User defined type skipped";
}
See `perlsyn/"Basic BLOCKs and Switch Statements"' for many other
examples in this style.
Sometimes you should change the positions of the constant and the
variable. For example, let's say you wanted to test which of many
answers you were given, but in a case-insensitive way that also
allows abbreviations. You can use the following technique if the
strings all start with different characters, or if you want to
arrange the matches so that one takes precedence over another, as
`"SEND"' has precedence over `"STOP"' here:
chomp($answer = <>);
if ("SEND" =~ /^\Q$answer/i) { print "Action is send\n" }
elsif ("STOP" =~ /^\Q$answer/i) { print "Action is stop\n" }
elsif ("ABORT" =~ /^\Q$answer/i) { print "Action is abort\n" }
elsif ("LIST" =~ /^\Q$answer/i) { print "Action is list\n" }
elsif ("EDIT" =~ /^\Q$answer/i) { print "Action is edit\n" }
A totally different approach is to create a hash of function
references.
my %commands = (
"happy" => \&joy,
"sad", => \&sullen,
"done" => sub { die "See ya!" },
"mad" => \&angry,
);
print "How are you? ";
chomp($string = <STDIN>);
if ($commands{$string}) {
$commands{$string}->();
} else {
print "No such command: $string\n";
}
How can I catch accesses to undefined variables/functions/methods?
The AUTOLOAD method, discussed in the section on "Autoloading" in
the perlsub manpage and the section on "AUTOLOAD: Proxy Methods" in
the perltoot manpage, lets you capture calls to undefined functions
and methods.
When it comes to undefined variables that would trigger a warning
under `-w', you can use a handler to trap the pseudo-signal
`__WARN__' like this:
$SIG{__WARN__} = sub {
for ( $_[0] ) { # voici un switch statement
/Use of uninitialized value/ && do {
# promote warning to a fatal
die $_;
};
# other warning cases to catch could go here;
warn $_;
}
};
Why can't a method included in this same file be found?
Some possible reasons: your inheritance is getting confused, you've
misspelled the method name, or the object is of the wrong type.
Check out the perltoot manpage for details on these. You may also
use `print ref($object)' to find out the class `$object' was
blessed into.
Another possible reason for problems is because you've used the
indirect object syntax (eg, `find Guru "Samy"') on a class name
before Perl has seen that such a package exists. It's wisest to
make sure your packages are all defined before you start using
them, which will be taken care of if you use the `use' statement
instead of `require'. If not, make sure to use arrow notation (eg,
`Guru->find("Samy")') instead. Object notation is explained in the
perlobj manpage.
Make sure to read about creating modules in the perlmod manpage and
the perils of indirect objects in the section on "WARNING" in the
perlobj manpage.
How can I find out my current package?
If you're just a random program, you can do this to find out what
the currently compiled package is:
my $packname = __PACKAGE__;
But if you're a method and you want to print an error message that
includes the kind of object you were called on (which is not
necessarily the same as the one in which you were compiled):
sub amethod {
my $self = shift;
my $class = ref($self) || $self;
warn "called me from a $class object";
}
How can I comment out a large block of perl code?
Use embedded POD to discard it:
# program is here
=for nobody
This paragraph is commented out
# program continues
=begin comment text
all of this stuff
here will be ignored
by everyone
=end comment text
=cut
This can't go just anywhere. You have to put a pod directive where
the parser is expecting a new statement, not just in the middle of
an expression or some other arbitrary yacc grammar production.
AUTHOR AND COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 1997, 1998 Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington.
All rights reserved.
When included as part of the Standard Version of Perl, or as part
of its complete documentation whether printed or otherwise, this
work may be distributed only under the terms of Perl's Artistic
License. Any distribution of this file or derivatives thereof
*outside* of that package require that special arrangements be made
with copyright holder.
Irrespective of its distribution, all code examples in this file
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.
------------------------------
Date: 12 Jul 98 21:33:47 GMT (Last modified)
From: Perl-Request@ruby.oce.orst.edu (Perl-Users-Digest Admin)
Subject: Special: Digest Administrivia (Last modified: 12 Mar 98)
Message-Id: <null>
Administrivia:
Special notice: in a few days, the new group comp.lang.perl.moderated
should be formed. I would rather not support two different groups, and I
know of no other plans to create a digested moderated group. This leaves
me with two options: 1) keep on with this group 2) change to the
moderated one.
If you have opinions on this, send them to
perl-users-request@ruby.oce.orst.edu.
The Perl-Users Digest is a retransmission of the USENET newsgroup
comp.lang.perl.misc. For subscription or unsubscription requests, send
the single line:
subscribe perl-users
or:
unsubscribe perl-users
to almanac@ruby.oce.orst.edu.
To submit articles to comp.lang.perl.misc (and this Digest), send your
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To submit articles to comp.lang.perl.announce, send your article to
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To request back copies (available for a week or so), send your request
to almanac@ruby.oce.orst.edu with the command "send perl-users x.y",
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The Meta-FAQ, an article containing information about the FAQ, is
available by requesting "send perl-users meta-faq". The real FAQ, as it
appeared last in the newsgroup, can be retrieved with the request "send
perl-users FAQ". Due to their sizes, neither the Meta-FAQ nor the FAQ
are included in the digest.
The "mini-FAQ", which is an updated version of the Meta-FAQ, is
available by requesting "send perl-users mini-faq". It appears twice
weekly in the group, but is not distributed in the digest.
For other requests pertaining to the digest, send mail to
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sending perl questions to the -request address, I don't have time to
answer them even if I did know the answer.
------------------------------
End of Perl-Users Digest V8 Issue 3360
**************************************
