www::curl::easy = no url set error... Help please!

andrew peacock has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi, I'm trying to use WWW::Curl for the first time, and I'm getting a "No URL Set" error even though the code looks OK. Here's the very basic code I've got this down to:

#!/usr/bin/perl
#
# Test script for Perl extension Curl::easy.
# Check out the file README for more info.
use CGI::Carp qw( fatalsToBrowser );
use WWW::Curl;
print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";
my $url = 'http://www.google.com';

print "Testing curl version ",WWW::Curl::Easy::version(),"\n";

my $curl= new WWW::Curl::Easy;
$curl->setopt(CURLOPT_URL, $url);
if ($curl->perform() != 0) {
    print "\n
Failed ::".$curl->errbuf."\n";
};

It generates the "No URL set" error. I've googled lots, and can't find anything substantial about this message. Can anyone help? Any advice would be greatly, greatly appreciated, Regards Andy

Comment on www::curl::easy = no url set error... Help please!

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: www::curl::easy = no url set error... Help please! by hipowls (Curate) on Feb 24, 2008 at 00:37 UTC
The use statement should be `use WWW:Curl::Easy;` [download] as it makes the constant CURLOPT_URL available. If you had `use strict;` in your program it would have pointed out the error `Bareword "CURLOPT_URL" not allowed while "strict subs" in use at Perl- +2.pl line 13. Execution of Perl-2.pl aborted due to compilation errors.` [download]	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: www::curl::easy = no url set error... Help please! by Fletch (Bishop) on Feb 24, 2008 at 01:55 UTC
And while not specifically an answer to your question, you may find LWP::Simple (and LWP::UserAgent upon which it sits, or possibly WWW::Mechanize if you need more browser-like behavior (cookies, sumitting forms)) a better supported option as they're the more "standard" web client modules (and you're more likely to find people familiar with them). The cake is a lie. The cake is a lie. The cake is a lie.	[reply]
Re^2: www::curl::easy = no url set error... Help please! by andrew peacock (Initiate) on Feb 24, 2008 at 13:41 UTC
thanks to both of you. The www::curl with or without ::easy was getting me confused, coupled with my host saying they could install www::curl only after I asked for www::curl::easy. And I'd totallt forgotten about LWP. It's been quite a while since I coded in Perl, as you can probably tell. Thanks alot guys. The ::Easy solved it, and the LWP might be a better way forward. I appreciate the response, Andy	[reply]