You'll want to take a look at the various template modules, HTML::Template, HTML::Mason, or Template Toolkit 2, to name the more popular ones.

In nearly all cases, all you need to do is use normal CGI programming, then load up a hash with values that you got from your mysql database; this hash is then passed to the template module, which fills in the template form, and either prints it to STDOUT or returns it as a string after which you can print it out to whereever. For example, with TT2, you could call your template as such:

print $tt2obj->process( 'mytemplate.html',
    { title => 'Matrix',
      image => 'matrix_cover.jpg',
      desc  => 'This is a cool movie with CGI effects' } );
[download]

and then in 'mytemplate.html', you'd have placeholders as such:

<H2>[% title %]</H2>
<IMG SRC="[% image %]" alt="[% title %]">
<P>
[% desc %]
</P>
[download]

The various template solutions allow for much more control of the output and allow for looping and if-then constructs as well.

-----------------------------------------------------
Dr. Michael K. Neylon - mneylon-pm@masemware.com || "You've left the lens cap of your mind on again, Pinky" - The Brain
"I can see my house from here!"
It's not what you know, but knowing how to find it if you don't know that's important