Re: PLEASE Help with this script

in reply to PLEASE Help with this script

First off: always use strictures (use strict; use warnings;).

A few other standard imprecations are:

eschew global variables. In particular don't use global variables in subs.
use the three parameter version of open.
always check the result from open and other such functions.
use lexical file handles: open my $inFile, '<', $fileName or die "Can't open $fileName:$!\n";
avoid hand rolled and hand parsed HTML. Use suitable modules instead - there are a few: (HTML).

True laziness is hard work

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Re^2: PLEASE Help with this script by ksolomon (Initiate) on Dec 16, 2009 at 21:41 UTC
I came in at the end of this project and am not very familiar with perl at all. I used a working script and attempted to edit it to create a new file but it's not working out for me.	[reply]
Re^3: PLEASE Help with this script by GrandFather (Saint) on Dec 16, 2009 at 22:58 UTC
At the start of the learning curve this advice may not help a lot, but the conventional wisdom is: first create a unit test for the code you are about to change, then make the change. The idea is that you write a regression test that confirms the current behavior doesn't get broken by changes that you make. It's smart to also write a test the confirms the expected new behavior works too (when it's implemented of course). The other important thing is to use a revision control system. That allows you to easily back out changes and to compare what you have now with some past version. True laziness is hard work	[reply]

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