Perl.com update
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The Email for www.perl.com Subscribers
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Hello, readers. Welcome to the biweekly Perl.com newsletter, the one your
editor almost always forgets as his memory only lasts eleven days at a
time. Regardless, here's what's new this fortnight.
* Perl News in Brief
OSCON 2005's Call for Proposals ends this Sunday night, 13 February.
Submit your proposals for talks and tutorials now:
http://use.perl.org/article.pl?sid=05/01/21/1356251&tid=7&tid=42
Yet heed the words of conference chair Nat Torkington on clever talk
titles:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/6461
Also pay attention to the Skud's conference attendee manners suggestions,
as filtered through Andy Lester:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/6466
If you prefer to keep your nose in your laptop from home, consider
stopping by the newly launched CPAN::Forum, Gabor Szabo's new project to
promote the discussion of CPAN modules:
http://www.cpanforum.com/
Finally, if you want to ride the coattails of the Smartest Man in Perl (at
least this week; Autrijus has some scary competition), check out
Perl6-Pugs, a simplified version of Perl 6 with an actual implementation:
http://search.cpan.org/dist/Perl6-Pugs
Autrijus has documented his escapades in his journal, so let the wise and
gawking crowds peek at what's gone on:
http://use.perl.org/~autrijus/journal/
* Perl.com Articles
As promised last time, Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski has contributed an
article entitled "Throwing Shapes" that demonstrates how Perl-to-Perl RPC
mechanisms work. In a few dozen lines of code, using a few supporting
modules, it's possible to build a decent proof of concept client-server
library. Now you know what goes on in the existing modules on the CPAN:
http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2005/02/03/rpc_design.html
In the world of Perl testing, the basics are easy, but there are
conceptual gaps in dealing with external code and resources. For example,
how do you write tests that can run on user machines that require the use
of a database? There are ways around this. Stevan Little's "Perl Code
Kata: Testing Databases" provides an exercise of an hour or so that will
test your testing-fu by introducing DBD::Mock and explaining its uses.
Take the time to go through this; you'll be a stronger programmer for it:
http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2005/02/10/database_kata.html
Don't forget that Perl.com also hosts nicely-formatted and beautifully
hyperlinked versions of Matt Fowles' Perl 6 mailing list summaries. He
even capitalizes your editor's moniker correctly; show him you appreciate
him!
* A (Third and Final) Call for Lighting Articles
With the success of the first Perl Lightning Articles right around four
months ago, it's time to consider another round. If you have an idea for
an article, please let us know; it's your chance to become slightly
famouser and slightly richer (but only slightly). There have been a
couple of contributions so far. Don't miss out!
http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2004/09/09/lightning.html
* Conclusion
That wraps it up for today. Stay safe out there. If Monday rolls around
and you have any spare jellybeans, send them this way.
Your editor,
-- c
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Editor, Perl.com and other things
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Two great reasons why you can't afford to miss ETech 2005:
1. Delve deep into technology's undercurrent
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Attend in-depth break-out sessions led by hackers and thinkers on the
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2. Understand how emerging trends will affect your technology and
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Explore the strategies of platform players Amazon.com, TiVo, AT&T, and
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Register today at:
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===================================================================
*** Featured Articles ***
Perl Code Kata: Testing Databases
Testing simple code is all well and good, but what happens when your real
code has to work with external programs, such as databases? How do you
test your code adequately without going crazy writing scaffolding that has
no chance of working anywhere but your test box? Stevan Little suggests
that DBD::Mock can round out your test toolbox nicely in this Perl Test
Kata.
http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2005/02/10/database_kata.html
***
This Week in Perl 6, Feb. 1 - 8, 2005
Matt Fowles summarizes the Perl 6 mailing lists with bugfixes, plans for a
Parrot 0.1.2 release, and the introduction of Featherweight Perl 6, an
actual implementation.
http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2005/02/p6pdigest/20050208.html
***
Throwing Shapes
Sometimes data processing works best when you separate the application
into multiple parts; this is the well-loved client-server model. What goes
on between the parts, though? Vladi Belperchinov-Shabanski walks through
the design and implementation of a Remote Procedure Call system in Perl.
http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2005/02/03/rpc_design.html
***
This Fortnight in Perl 6, Jan. 19-31, 2005
Matt Fowles summarizes the Perl 6 mailing lists with more Parrot calling
conventions, Perl 6 loop-ending and loop-continuing semantics, and evil
thoughts from Luke Palmer.
http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2005/02/p6pdigest/2005031.html
***
The Phalanx Project
One ancient Greek military invention was the phalanx, a group of soldiers
with overlapping shields each protecting each other. In the Perl world,
the Phalanx project intends to improve the quality of Perl 5, Ponie, and
the top CPAN modules. Project founder Andy Lester describes the goals and
ambitions.
http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2005/01/13/phalanx.html
***
This Week in Perl 6, Jan. 11-18, 2005
Matt Fowles summarizes the Perl 6 mailing lists with idioms, loop
counters, method-calling semantics, and the return of Dan Sugalski.
http://www.perl.com/pub/a/2005/01/p6pdigest/20050118.html
***
===================================================================
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