HTML::Embperl - Embed Perl in Your HTML Documents Copyright (c) 1997-2000 Gerald Richter / ECOS You may distribute under the terms of either the GNU General Public License or the Artistic License, as specified in the Perl README file. THIS PACKAGE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. *** IMPORTANT NOTE *** This is the A L P H A version of Embperl 2.x. I have done a lot of testing, but there are surely some errors left. The documentaion has _not_ been updated. It's very important to read the README.v2 to see what has changed, what is working and what isn't so far. ********************** OVERVIEW Embperl gives you the power to embed Perl code in your HTML documents. Using Perl means being able to use a very elaborate programming language, which is widely used for WWW purposes. You can also use hundreds of Perl modules which have already been written - including DBI - for database access to a growing number of database systems. While this could also be done with other packages, Embperl has several features especially for HTML: dynamic tables, formfield-processing, escaping/unescaping and more. Embperl is a server-side tool, which means it's browser-indpendent. It can run in various ways: Under mod_perl, as a cgi script, or offline. There is also a module for Database access within Embperl, look at DBIx::Recordset. EmbperlObject is a OO-approach for a common "look & feel" for a whole web-site, which allows you to build your web-site out of small reuseable pieces. DOCUMENTATION The following documentation is available within the distribution Features of Embperl: perldoc Features.pod Introduction to Embperl: perldoc Intro.pod Installation of Embperl: perldoc INSTALL.pod Full documentation: perldoc Embperl.pod perldoc EmbperlObject.pm perldoc Embperl/Mail.pm Frequent Asked Questions: perldoc Faq.pod Changes: perldoc Changes.pod Examples: eg/x/README All the above and further information can be found at the Embperl website http://perl.apache.org/embperl/ The following documentation is available in GERMAM Features of Embperl: perldoc FeaturesD.pod Introduction to Embperl: perldoc IntroD.pod Full documentation: perldoc EmbperlD.pod All the above and further information can be found at the german Embperl website http://www.ecos.de/embperl/ FEATURES * Lets you embed Perl code into HTML documents. Perl code is evaluated at the server side and the result is sent to the browser. * Offers various meta-commands for conditional and loop processing of the HTML documents. * Automatically generates dynamic HTML tables/lists from Perl arrays or function calls (e.g. DBI fetch) * Form data send to your document is placed in a hash * Automatically inserts data from the form hash into HTML input, textarea and select tags * Understands HTML and URL escaping and unescaping * Handles per-user and per-module persistent session data for you. All you need to do is store and retrieve them to and from a special hash. * Allows you to build your web-site out of components. Frequently used elements can be defined once and included in every page. * EmbperlObject allows you to define the standard layout of your site just once and includes the neccessary components based on the uri. Your HTML documents just have to contain the unique stuff and not the common stuff like headers/footers or navigation bars. Also these common element can be overwritten in each subdirectory. * Gives you the possibility to build libraries with a set of frequently used Elements or components, and make them available to the whole web-site in the same way as Perl modules are - well, modularized. * Supports debugging of pages by generating a very detailed log file and making it accessible via the browser with a single click. * Generates verbose error pages in which every error can link to the log file. This is ideal for debugging. * Offers a lot of options for maximum configurability according to your personal tastes and needs. * Fully integrated into Apache and mod_perl to acheive the best performance. Can also run as a CGI-script, offline or called from another Perl program. * The Perl module DBIx::Recordset offers high level, easy to handle database access for Embperl. * If you are concerned about security you can configure Embperl to use Safe.pm. This way, your documents can run in a safe namespace which can allow or disallow certain Perl opcodes. * I gives you the possibility to send the result directly to a email address COMPATIBILITY I have tested Embperl successfully on Linux 2.x with perl5.004_04 perl5.005_01/02/03 perl5.6.0 apache_1.2.5 apache_1.2.6 apache_1.3.0 apache_1.3.1 apache_1.3.2 apache_1.3.3 apache_1.3.4 apache_1.3.6 apache_1.3.9 apache_1.3.12 apache + mod_ssl apache_ssl (Ben SSL) Stronghold 2.2 Stronghold 2.4.1 on Windows NT 4.0 with perl5.004_04 perl5.005_xx perl5.6.0 apache_1.3.0 apache_1.3.1 apache_1.3.4 apache_1.3.6 apache_1.3.9 apache_1.3.12 on Windows 95/98 with perl5.004_02 (binary distribution) Offline mode perl5.005_03 + apache_1.3.6 I know from other people that it works on many other UNIX systems FEEDBACK and BUG REPORTS Please let me know if you use or test this module. Bugs, questions, suggestions for things you would find useful, etc., are discussed on the Embperl mailing list. If you have a site that is using Embperl, I would love to mention it in list of sites using Embperl (http://perl.apache.org/embperl/Sites.pod.1.html). Please drop me a mail with a short description, if your site uses Embperl. The Embperl mailing list (embperl@perl.apache.org) is available for Embperl users and developers to share ideas, solve problems and discuss things related to Embperl To subscribe to this list, send mail to embperl-subscribe@perl.apache.org. To unsubscribe send email to embperl-unsubscribe@perl.apache.org . There is an archive for the Embperl mailing list at http://www.ecos.de/~mailarc/embperl/ For mod_perl related questions you may search the mod_perl mailing list archive at http://forum.swarthmore.edu/epigone/modperl COMMERICAL SUPPORT You can get free support on the mod_perl mailing list (see above). If you need commercial support, ecos can provide it for you. We offer: * Consulting and assitance for you and your programmers * Planning of your dynamic website * Creating of parts or a whole website * Fixing bugs in Embperl (also available for mod_perl) * Adding new features You can reach us via http://www.ecos.de or info@ecos.de LOGO The Embperl distribution contains a "Powered by Embperl" Logo (EmbperlLogo.gif) which you may place at your Web-site if you like. AUTHOR G. Richter (richter@dev.ecos.de)