Perl and CGI scripting

Learn the Perl programming language and discover how to write CGI scripts such as form mailers, guestbooks and dynamic content scripts.

Articles in Perl and CGI scripting

Introduction to Perl and the CGI - Beginner Tutorial

What kind of language is Perl, and what is the CGI? How do you write a "CGI script"? These questions, and more, are answered in this introduction!

Your first CGI script - Beginner Tutorial

Learn how to write a simple CGI script, then upload it to your server and test it, with this easy-to-follow tutorial.

Data types in Perl - Beginner Tutorial

Perl allows you to store your data in variables in a variety of ways. This tutorial looks at Perl's common data types: scalars, arrays and hashes.

Troubleshooting CGI scripts - Intermediate Tutorial

We've all seen CGI scripts cough up the dreaded "Internal Server Error" message occasionally! What does this error mean, and how can you find the cause of the problem? This tutorial explains some CGI troubleshooting techniques.

Form validation with Perl and CGI - Intermediate How-To

The most reliable way to make sure your users haven't filled in your forms wrongly is to use server-side form validation. This tutorial shows how you can do this with Perl and the CGI, and introduces the concept of subroutines along the way.

Working with files - Intermediate Tutorial

This tutorial shows you how to create files and write to them, how to read them, how to delete them, and how to scan directories on your server. It also covers permissions and full paths, and includes a handy script for working out full paths. It also touches on loops, lists, and appending strings to variables. A lengthy tutorial but well worth reading!

Writing a simple form mailer - Intermediate How-To

This tutorial will show you how to build a simple form mailer script, so that visitors can send you emails from your site. Along the way we explain some new Perl concepts, including the CGI library module.

Controlling program flow - Intermediate Tutorial

Learn how to alter the flow of your Perl code using decisions and loops. This essential tutorial covers statements such as if, while, until, do, for and foreach.