Written for those with some previous knowledge of Perl, Scott McMahan's Automating Windows with Perl brings the spirit of Perl to Windows along with several handy sample scripts that can simplify the life of any administrator or advanced programmer.
Instead of a tutorial on the basics of Perl, this book concentrates on explaining the philosophy of Perl on Unix and what it's good for on the Windows platform. In short, concise chapters, McMahon provides sample scripts for specific tasks done in Win32 Perl. For example, there's a cron utility (for scheduling) and another script for sending mail via SMTP. For administrators, the book shows how to automate nightly backups of directories into .ZIP files.
For programmers, it shows that the traditional advantages of Perl for managing builds translates well into Win32, where it can be used to automate virtually any programming build. There is also a simple example of a COM object created in Visual C++ that can be scripted using Perl. Coverage of Win32 Perl CGI shows what CGI is and how it works. Later sections cover a wide variety of short topics, such as which code editor to use, and a number of custom utilities that can inspire you to think of ways to use Perl in real-world settings.
This short book doesn't aim to be comprehensive. Instead, it provides a nice selection of sample scripts, as well as a guide to understanding the spirit of Perl and the real advantages it offers for any Windows administrator or developer. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: Perl history and overview, a Win32 Perl cron utility, using SMTP e-mail with Win32 Perl, automated backups, Microsoft Office 97 automation, integrating project executables: "smoke testing," automating rebuilds, C++ add-ins for Perl with Visual C++, CGI scripting, and Perl hints and tips.
Book Description
Perl is the perfect language for achieving Automation in Windows because it combines a painless Visual Basic style of coding with Perl's strength as a scripting language for process communications. The new multitasking and networking approaches with 32-bit Windows require a radical departure from previous programming techniques. This book, dedicated to the use of Perl as a language to automate 32-bit Windows, shows how to control many Win32 systems processes without immediate user interaction.
The author explains how to use Perl scripts to automate tasks such as processing complex documents and customizing interactions by making a program look different to different users. Also provided are Perl scripts that will permit network administrators to automate tedious Windows maintenance tasks that range from automating backups to running a Windows system remotely from the Web.
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