Benjamin Wiechel's Perl Pages

Introduction

Perl is an open source language used by many web developers and system administrators. I have used Perl for CGI scripts, Windows network and PC administration, and database administration. The limits of Perl are mostly the imagination of the developer. I have put together these pages as a tutorial and example for using Perl on Win32 platforms, with the intent of showing how to do some of the tasks I found poorly documented. I am always willing to add to this site, so if you find something missing, please let me know and I will add it in.

Primarily, I have used Perl on Win32 platforms, specifically Windows 2000 Pro and Server, and Windows XP. I have done some work under RedHat Linux versions 5.0+. Being that it is so flexible, many things I have written for one platform were easy to port to another platform with minor modifications.

For use with Win32 platforms, I have chosen to use ActiveState's ActivePerl. The only differences between ActivePerl, Visual Perl, and ASPN Perl seem to be in the amount of money you pay, and the add-on tools you receive with the software. Because I am not a .NET developer, I have found little need for Visual Perl to date. ASPN Perl seems to be worth licensing if you have the money, but is not necessary to begin using Perl.