CIW Perl Specialist - Course Description
The Perl Specialist course (formerly titled Perl Fundamentals) focuses on the fundamental concepts of the Perl programming language. In this course, you will learn the basic syntax and control structures needed to write Perl scripts. Topics such as data types, flow control, arrays and hashes, regular expressions, and subroutines will be discussed. You will learn how to interact with text files and how to access command line arguments and environment variables. You will also learn about packages and modules, and you will be introduced to database connectivity using Perl. Finally, you will receive an overview about debugging Perl scripts.
Although the knowledge that you gain in this course is designed to widen your understanding of server scripting in general, you will focus on the Perl language in particular.
Topics
Introduction to Perl
Practical Extracting and Reporting Language (Perl)
Getting Started with Perl
Scalar Variables
Numerical Variables
String Variables
Retrieving Data from STDIN
Flow Control in Perl
Boolean Expressions in Perl
The if Statement
The while Statement
The do {} while Statement
The for Statement
Loop-Control Commands
I/O Redirection
Regular Expressions in Perl
Introduction to Regular Expressions
Character Classes
Pattern Matching and Substitution
Arrays in Perl
Introduction to Perl Arrays
Accessing Array Elements
The sort Function
The foreach Statement
The push and pop Functions
The shift and unshift Functions
The split and join Functions
Hashes in Perl
Introduction to Perl Hashes
Adding and Deleting Hash Elements
The keys Function
The values Function
The each Function
The reverse Function
Subroutines in Perl
Introduction to Perl Subroutines
Variable Scope
References
File Input and Output
Introduction to File Input and Output
What Is a Filehandle?
The open Function
Outputting Data to a File
Opening Files for Reading
Determining Information About Files
The stat and lstat Functions
Environment Variables and Command Line Arguments
Environment Variables
Command Line Arguments
Packages and Modules in Perl
Using Packages in Perl
BEGIN and END Blocks
Using Modules in Perl
The use and require Statements
Object-Oriented Perl
Introduction to Object-Oriented Perl
Creating Objects in Perl
Inheritance
Database Connectivity and Perl
Introduction to Database Connectivity
Database Programming with Perl
Interacting with Databases
Connecting to Databases
Structured Query Language
Quoting Operators
Debugging Perl Programs
Introduction to Debugging Perl Scripts
Using the print Command
Using the –w Switch
Using the strict Module
The Perl Debugger
Writing Bug-Free Perl Code
Target Audience
The CIW Perl Specialist course is for individuals who want to understand how to fully use the features of the Perl programming language in Web application development. These specialized Web language skills can help you begin or grow a career in advanced Web development and technologies:
- Web developers
- Software developers
- Application programmers
- Client/server developers
- Desktop publishers
Job Responsibilities
Implement and maintain hypertext-based Web sites using authoring and scripting languages; create Web content; use Web management tools and digital media tools; and apply human-factor principles to design.
Prerequisites
No prior knowledge of the Perl programming language is necessary. However, students should be familiar with using the Internet, developing Web pages and configuring networks to a level consistent with that found in the CIW Web Foundations series, and be able to demonstrate Web scripting knowledge equivalent to that found in the JavaScript Specialist course.
