JUST SAY NO TO CGI.pm

Anonymous Monk, using other people's objects is easier than writing them which takes a very different mind set from what I have now. What else should I use for my params if CGI is on its way out? I have not seen any suggested substitutes for CGI's param.

I am not the Anonymous Monk that was attacking jeffa for using Moose. Did you know that CGI.pm has been removed from the Perl core? This means that your hosting provider could one day perform a major upgrade that results in you no longer having access to the CGI.pm they provide for you today. Now is the time to find alternatives: CGI::Alternatives.

Maybe all you need is CGI::Lite.

Anonymous Monk, I am aware CGI has been removed from the core. If my web host does upgrade, I will first go into shock then second go to work replacing CGI with whichever module is its clear successor. I looked over the alternatives and saw param/params listed in Dancer, but I'm not too clear on how to use Dancer's param.

CGI::Lite does not seem to have a param option, neither does Plack, which has been mentioned by others in this discussion.

I am at the ready to change use CGI; to whichever module is the easiest to use. Below are the lines where I use CGI's param. I am at the ready to do a find/replace in the 15 scripts where I use it, if someone would be kind enough to get me started in the right direction.

use CGI;
use CGI::Carp qw(fatalsToBrowser);
use HTML::Entities qw(encode_entities);

my $cgi = CGI->new;

# in Movies/Movie_by_alpha.pl
my $year   = $cgi->param('year')     ? encode_entities($cgi->param('ye
+ar'),     '<>"') : '';
my $media  = $cgi->param('media')    ? encode_entities($cgi->param('me
+dia'),    '<>"') : '';
my $format = $cgi->param('format')   ? encode_entities($cgi->param('fo
+rmat'),   '<>"') : '';
my $genre  = $cgi->param('genre')    ? encode_entities($cgi->param('ge
+nre'),    '<>"') : '';
my $basis  = $cgi->param('based on') ? encode_entities($cgi->param('ba
+sed on'), '<>"') : '';
my $title  = $cgi->param('title')    ? encode_entities($cgi->param('ti
+tle'),    '<>"') : '';

# in Movies/Movies_by_genre.pl
my $select = encode_entities($cgi->param('genre'),'<>"');

# in Movies/Movies_by_series.pl
my $select = encode_entities($cgi->param('series'),'<>"');

# in Role_playing/Magic_items/spell_scrolls.pl
my $select = encode_entities($cgi->param('spell scroll'),'<>"');

# in Role_playing/Miscellany/Character_mutations_generator.pl
my $iterations = $cgi->param('iterations') ? encode_entities($cgi->par
+am('iterations'),'<>"') : 1;

# in Role_playing/Miscellany/Word_finds.pl
my $select = encode_entities($cgi->param('word find'),'<>"');

# in Role_playing/Monsters/index.pl
my $select = $cgi->param('monster') ? encode_entities($cgi->param('mon
+ster'),'<>"') : undef;

# in Role_playing/Player_characters/Spellbooks.pl
my $select = encode_entities($cgi->param('spellbook'),'<>"');

# in Role_playing/Reference_tables/Proficiencies.pl
my $alpha   = $cgi->param('alpha') ? encode_entities($cgi->param('alph
+a'),'<>"') : '';
my @classes = $cgi->param('class') ? $cgi->param('class') : ''; # can'
+t encode entities or array won't work.
my $slots   = $cgi->param('slots') ? encode_entities($cgi->param('slot
+s'),'<>"') : '';
my $ability = $cgi->param('rel_ability') ? encode_entities($cgi->param
+('rel_ability'),'<>"') : '';

# in Role_playing/Reference_tables/Weapons.pl
my $broad = $cgi->param('broad') ? encode_entities($cgi->param('broad'
+),'<>"') : '';
my $tight = $cgi->param('tight') ? encode_entities($cgi->param('tight'
+),'<>"') : '';

# in working/Twitter/Follower_check.pl
my $follower = encode_entities($cgi->param('follower'),'<>"');
my $outreach = encode_entities($cgi->param('outreach'),'<>"');

# in working/Twitter/Tweet_a_message.pl
# can't encode entities on arrays since they won't work.
my @account_select = $cgi->param('account_select');
my @list_select = $cgi->param('list_select');
my $tweet = encode_entities($cgi->param('tweet'),'<>"');

# in working/Twitter/Twitter_lists_properties.pl
my $sort_by = encode_entities($cgi->param('sort'),'<>"');

# in working/Twitter/Twitter_mentions.pl
my $select = encode_entities($cgi->param('accounts'),'<>"');

# in working/Twitter/Twitter_people.pl
my $select = encode_entities($cgi->param('accounts'),'<>"');
[download]

Update 1: I am doing this now to hopefully get the discussion about procedural to object oriented programming back on track.

Update 2: I do not know if any of the current CGI alternative modules have a perl version restriction. The perl on my web host is 5.8.8. If any of them require a higher perl, you can skip it.

No matter how hysterical I get, my problems are not time sensitive. So, relax, have a cookie, and a very nice day!
Lady Aleena

... the only time she actually uses CGI.pm is to gather query params ...

Who mentioned CGI.pm?

I was talking about Common Gateway Interface, the non-persistent execution environment

You meant something barely anyone uses anymore and no one should use for at least ten years already.

Using Common Gateway Interface, the non-persistent execution environment, should be considered a misconfiguration.

Jenda
Enoch was right!
Enjoy the last years of Rome.

You did. You clearly never mentioned Plack, which is where everyone now is.

You did. You clearly never mentioned Plack, which is where everyone now is.

Great argument ... and is everyone there now for free?

Plack is very much like Dancer/Moose under Common Gateway Interface, just extra overhead