Well, for what ports to use (assuming you are talking about the TCP/UDP
ports, not slang for "modules") then you might want to take a gander
at your local services file. On a windows2k box it is typically in c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\services.
In most *nix boxes, look for it as /etc/services. This file is a
list of all defined ports (not all of them are necessarily in use, but these are
the definitions that your box understands for those ports). From this
list, choose one that does not conflict with an existing service/program/daemon
or whatnot.
Now, if on the other hand, you are looking for "modules" to use in
your code, here are a few ideas that I recently used on a pet project of my own
that is very similar.
- XML:Simple is a
fine quick start for XML handling. Watch it though, it does no
DTD or validity testing for you.
- DBD::CSV and DBI
to get the flat file into the program.
- And then for your connections, you could use any one of a number of
programs - all depending on exactly what you want to do in more specific
detail. If you are going to stay within the standard protocols (like
FTP and HTTP) you night want to look into LWP::Simple
or Net::FTP for a one
stop solution and easy use. If you need more specific port control,
and perhaps more customization of the protocol is needed (a home-brew
security, compression, or other modification) you could start out with IO:socket
or for a more daemon/server style service you may want to look into adding
in POE.
Hope this helps either way. Cheers! ..and happy turkey day!
*G*