Updates
Latest Tweet
What's New?
Check out for latest innovation, a computer based training video collection
Like this Page
MySQL and Perl for the Web Review by Joshua J. Kugler
A great book to get you up to speed
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book on the condition that I would write a review of it. That said, what follows is my opinion.
This book provides a good "from the ground up" guide for using Perl to do just about anything you'd want to do on your web site, including run an eCommerce site. You need to know a bit of Perl before you start, but even if you don't the examples start out simple enough that you should be able to pick it up as you go, provided you have some programming background. Should you get stuck, there are plenty of pointers to online resources, as well as an appendix to show you how to set up the software used in this book.
The book starts out with the basics: setting up MySQL and Apache to get at your data via the web, including Perl DBI basics. You then get started by writing a simple to-do list application, and in the process create modules that you will use (and build on) later in the book.
Mod_perl is covered, and then progressively more complex form based applications are presented. Many useful techniques are discussed. Once you're just about tired of all the tedium of form based applications, automated form-handling techniques are introduced that use meta-data about the table structures to automatically generate (and validate) input data. Techniques for session management get a chapter as well, presenting very good information on the pros and cons of different session management techniques (IP, cookie, URL key, etc).
Security and privacy get a very good chapter. Not only are issues presented regarding keeping user's information confidential, but cautions are also presented regarding keeping the server secure. SQL injection attacks are discussed, as are defenses against them. Hint: use MySQL's quote() function.
The book closes with a chapter on writing an eCommerce application. All the techniques used in the book are brought together in one application, and it is shown (very well) how they all relate to each other. While the resulting eCommerce application is extremely simple in regards to what it can do, it effectively shows the reader the power of MySQL and Perl together, and provides an excellent reference when writing applications of one's own.
I am a system administrator, and have done a good chunk of web site design (mostly the technical side) and programming. I've been using Perl since 1996, and MySQL with that since 2000 (used mSQL before that). So, yes, I had quite a bit of Perl and DB experience before I read the book. I say that to say this: I still learned things. There were tips and techniques in there that I hadn't thought of, and will make my job just a bit easier the next time I use Perl to write a MySQL based application. Even if you have some Perl and MySQL experience under your belt, the book will still be useful.