Re: freeware scripts (was Re: [MacPerl] learning UNIX concepts)

[Patrick Beart <patrick@WebArchitecture.com>]

On 11/12/98, Chris Nandor took the time to write:
>At 11.03 -0500 1998.11.12, David Turley wrote:
>>w e b s l a v e wrote:
>>
>>> Maybe someone will come along who is as visible as these two, but writes
>>> great code, but until then... what to do?
>>
>>Let me think...
>>
>>Chris Nandor, Paul J. Schinder, Randal Schwartz, Tom Christiansen,
>>Joseph Hall, Jeffrey Friedl ....
>>
>>All of these people are fairly visible, write pretty decent stuff and
>>make it freely available. I've used all their sites to help in learning
>>Perl/MacPerl. And don't forget all the O'Reilly books full of code!
>>...snip...
>>I freely admit I am still trying to break habits learned when I used MSA
>>as my "tutor" when I first started learning perl. (Notice I said
>>"started", no one is "finished.")
>
>Tom is probably the best place to start.  Check out his book with Nat, Perl
>Cookbook, and then on to Tom's Scripts Archive:
>
>    http://www.perl.com/CPAN/authors/Tom_Christiansen/scripts/
>

	This is a great resource page. Thanks Chris!   : )

	Unfortunately, it doesn't speak to the REAL issue, IMO. The MOST
important function of a CGI script is to process HTML Form Data! As a Web
Developer, I can speak to the fact that a script written for any other
purpose, with respect to Internet/Web applications, is secondary.
	Tom's scripts are extensive and I can see considerable use for many
of them, myself. However, Selena Sol and Matt Wright have gained
(unfounded?) fame from creating freely available scripts (no matter HOW BAD
they actually are) that people NEED for use in arguably THE most important
and necessary area - parsing form data.
	I didn't see a SINGLE script of Tom's that provides a solution to
this need. Mortgage calculator, sorter for text files, ... even a pizza
order form - but NOTHING that solves the Web form problem.

	Many tasks can be done "by hand", manual calculator, or whatever.
Processing Web-based form data has only two solutions that I know of:
JavaScript or (PERL-based) CGI. ... and the JS solution isn't a viable
answer, due to incompatibilities with older browsers - specifically IE3.
	If anyone knows of other options, with respect to this issue, I
know of a few hundred developers on the CyberStudio list that would LOVE to
hear about it. Hell, we'd probably even PAY a few bucks for a decent, well
coded script!  I know that I would - which is why I'm trying to learn PERL,
BTW.

	Just my $.02


Patrick Beart

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