Perl(programming languages)

 

What is Perl?

Perl is a family of script programming languages that is similar in syntax to the C language. It is an older, open source, general use, interpreted language.

Perl was developed with usability in mind. Its efficient design lets developers do a lot with a little bit of code. Its nickname is the "Swiss Army chainsaw" of the internet.

Perl is simpler to learn and code with than more structured languages, such as C and C++. Nevertheless, the language is used to develop advanced programs. The language is often used to develop common gateway interface (CGI) programs because it has good text manipulation capabilities and the ability to deal with binary files.

Design and features of Perl

Perl includes popular Unix facilities, such as sed, awk and tr. As an interpreted language, code can run as is, and instructions are executed without first compiling the entire program into machine language instructions.

However, Perl can be compiled before execution into C code or cross-platform bytecode. When compiled, a Perl program is almost as fast as a fully pre-compiled C language program. A plugin is available for some servers, such as Apache, loading Perl permanently in memory. This reduces compile time and results in faster execution time of CGI Perl script.

Here are additional Perl features:

• Glue language. As a glue code language, Perl makes it easier for programmers to integrate otherwise incompatible interfaces and components. It features a database integration interface that supports third-party databases, like MySQL, Oracle, Postgres and Sybase.
• Embedding. Perl can be embedded in database servers and web servers.
• Text processing. It includes powerful text processing tools that enable it to work with markup languages, like Hypertext Markup Language and Extensible Markup Language.