so...if i have project::display and project::display::html....how does html use the methods/subs within display? are they inherited into html automagically? blarg! i'm confusing myself...but, do you get what i'm asking? this is why i posted this question as i did, because I haven't a clue what i'm asking, but i need to know it in the worst way lol

hello again jamroll,

I'm for sure not the best monk in the monastery to explain this, but it seems you liked my way to express it.

> are they inherited into html (package I'd add) automagically?

No, they are not. You have two options:

The plain, easy way: is let Exporter to do his job via @EXPORT_OK as already said. Read through https://perldoc.perl.org/Exporter.html manual to know more about it.

Everything in your module Project::Display (capitalize first char as idiomatic (idiomatic IS good thing) common practice), module that use Exporter (and also Project::Display states that @ISA = qw(Exporter); but more on this later) every sub defined in your module and that also is in @EXPORT_OK can be usable from other scripts or modules that include something like use Project::Display qw(a_sub_you_put_in_EXPORTER_OK another_one etc); and this is good.

Keep the whole thing simple, well named, ordered, and with some sense and everything will run smooth.

The ObjectOriented way: in this path to know a little of terminology is another good thing to do: perldoc has perlglossary just in case, but for Objected Oriented Perl (OO for brevity) the principal source of wisdom will be object oriented fundamentals that is in perlootut

Going to this path maybe trickier, but perhaps you are more inclined to program OO than in other ways. One of basic concepts is inheritance: with the already seen @ISA you put in your Project::Display module you asserted that your module IS-A Exporter: practically if a method (new term from OO, but is simply a sub..) is not found in Project::Display will be searched into every module (well package) you put into @ISA array.

So Project::Display::Console and Project::Display::HTML will both have @ISA = qw (Project::Display); very soon stated.

You than in your consumer script that uses this modules/classes you create an object, a simple scalar emitted by a constructor defined in the module: by tradition that special constructor sub, defined in a module/class/package is named new and this sub will bless that scalar: ie it marks this scalar as belonging to a particular module/class/package.

Doing so you will be able to do my $tv = Project::Display->new ( more=> "params", can_be => "supplied"); in your script and if Project::Display defines a sub format_70_chars then your $tv object can call this method: $tv->format_70_chars( $some_text );

But now you want to use inheritance and want to sublcass Project::Display and have a handy Project::Display::Console class to be able to draw text into a boxes done with - and | signs.

You create this package/module/class stating that this package @ISA is a Project::Display object. This Project::Display::Console will NOT have his own new method: it inherits it directly form Project::Display (you'll learn how to accomplish this correctly) but this new class just define a draw_in_box method.

If everything is wrote correctly only an objected created as instance of the class Project::Display::Console can call draw_in_box while objects created as Project::Display::HTML cannot. But both ojects inherits the new method from Project::Display base class.

Take a read of perlobj and consider to read the objects part of the must have ModernPerl free book (even if it just show the Moose implementation and not the plain perl OO I showed you).

ouch! i wrote a lot! read your manual now!

L*

There are no rules, there are no thumbs..
Reinvent the wheel, then learn The Wheel; may be one day you reinvent one of THE WHEELS.

thank you, sir. again, a good read. can't say i fully understood all of that, but i get the gist. See, i have much programming experience - coding in so many languages, including c/c++. I liked OO and inheritance and the "Is A" and "Has A" relationships. when i began coding my new site, i had not known perl could do OO...as I code the site, i learned so much and realize i should have gone OO with this...but, i'm several modules in (11 modules), and I have so many scripts that use the modules (some 32 scripts). like the song i'm hearing says right now - "it's too late". lol - i can't change it. so i'm stuck with the procedural method for now.

the next question on my mind....i'll use code to describe the question, cuz it gets my point across far easier than trying to use words to describe the question

package Blah::Blah::BlackSheep;

use strict;
use warnings;
# etc, etc...etc...

my $loggedin = cookie_get("loggedin"); # does exactly what you think i
+t does...
my $page = get_param(get_constant($db, "QUERY_PAGE")); # the page the 
+user wants to visit
# cookie_get, get_param, get_constant are all subs I created to ease m
+y coding a little, despite it being a tad...convoluted.  it works.  t
+hat's what matters

if (not allowed($page, $loggedin)) {
  print cookie_set("error", "Access Denied!");
  print "location: /\n\n";
  exit 1;
}

sub something {
  return "blah";
}

sub something2 {
  return "bleet";
}

# etc, etc, etc...

1;
[download]

is this "good practice" - i mean the bit before the first sub?

why do i ask? I don't want to have to code the above into EVERY script i write....that's prone to errors, and can be a real B when a change is needed....

if this isn't good practice, how can i accomplish this task? I know PERL allows the above code - compiles without complaint, and it does work....just wanted to know if this is the right way to go about it...?