You might consider something like Data::ICal or Data::ICal::DateTime These have the side benefit that the files can be read by other programs such as calendar programs and so forth.

UPdate: Just to make it clear the iCalendar specification already allows for recurrences and the other common things you might want from a calendar and these modules (and others) provide an interface to those files.

/J\

Date:Manip is the best....

Check especially Date:Manip:ParseRecur()
Dates are stored in an array


my $start = '01/01/2006';
my $end = '12/31/2010';
my @fourth_tuesdays = ParseRecur("0:1*4:2:0:0:0", $start,$start,$end,)
+;
my @last_workday_of_every_month = ParseRecur("0:1*0:-1:0:0:0*PWD", $st
+art,$start,$end,);
[download]



I haven't found anything nearly as good...
Tobin

so this would mean that pre-calculating dates would be my only real option, i guess? Assuming that i have a couple of hundred events, there would be no other way to simply call something like
@events = showEvents( $date );
?

1. The table with all events (recurring and not recurring)
2. The table with all dates on which an event will take place
3. A linking table between the "event" table and the "date" table.
4. The table with the formula for recurring events.

Every so often (say once a week for all future events and immediately once a new recurring event is entered) the table with recurring events is read and the dates for these events (or only for the new recurring event -- as the case may be) for the next x months are calculated and put in the dates-table and linking table. At the same time, past events are deleted from all tables as necessary.

I find this a good balance between fast look-up and keeping your tables simple, lean and easy to maintain.