If I trim the cruft, use DATA (because this is a sample and I don't want to use external files), provide the user and password as constants (because this is a sample and I don't want to use STDIN), then:

#!/usr/bin/perl

# read user data into a hash
while ($line = <DATA>) {
   chomp $line;
   ($u, $p) = split /:/, $line;
   $ubase{$u} = $p;

}

my $uname = 'larry';
my $passwd = 'lingo';
   # find command-line args in hash or exit
die "cannot find user $uname\n\t"
   if ! defined $ubase{$uname};
die "cannot validate user password\n\t"
   if $passwd ne $ubase{$uname};

print "Validated user name and password\n";

__DATA__
larry:lingo
tom:tonic
ellie:plasma

[download]

Prints:

Validated user anme and password

[download]

as expected. Perhaps you didn't provide a correct password?

More important is to be aware of a couple of bad things this example is teaching you. First, always use strictures (use strict; use warnings;). The textbook example doesn't. Second, use the three parameter open because it's safer and clearer. Often too it's helpful to give the user the system generated error for a failed operation - die "couldn't open task data file: $!\n\t" (note the $!).

DWIM is Perl's answer to Gödel

In reply to Re: Unable to run or troubleshoot a script... by GrandFather
in thread Unable to run or troubleshoot a script... by cgmd

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