The CPAN scripts are either more advanced or specialised than those I had in mind, though I shall probably make use of some of them at some point.

The Web Techniques are certainly going to come in handy for learning purposes. Thanks for that. :o)

I really had more mainstream CGI programs in mind though, such as guestbooks, forums, blogs etc.

I probably should have mentioned this before, but I run an independant help site for a free host, which (among other things) includes installation instructions for common CGI scripts.

Although I provide enough information for the more determined users to install almost any Perl program, many of the inexperienced users head straight for the "step by step" instructions for specific programs and base their decision on which one to use on whether I have instructions for it or not.

I'm therefore indirectly responsible for others picking up good and bad habits.

Unfortunately, I'm still learning Perl myself, and can't easily tell the difference between a really clever (but complex) regex and one that is needlessly complex due to bad or indifferent coding methods.

I agree with your last point, and also add that porting programs written in other languages can also help you to learn more about both langauges.

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"Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to one instruction which doesn't work." -- (Author Unknown)