Object-Relational Mapping is a method of mapping a relational database to a class structure in an object-oriented programming language. In simpler terms, it takes your database structure and creates an interface that keeps you from having to write any SQL at all. Not only does it abstract the database, it abstracts the relational portion as well, making it simpler for you to work in an application. Learn more in the second part of this tutorial on Preparing our Database for Rose::DB.

Adding Object-Relational Mapping to your Perl Application - Part Two

Andy Lester recently had a great post on the public web interface to CPAN, proposing nothing less than a total overhaul to make the massive software library more useful to the army of Perl programmers. I've long thought that updating some of the prime perl-hubs like CPAN and useperl.org would go a long way towards re-vitalizing and re-invigorating the community. As it stands, CPAN has grown so large it's difficult to know which module to use to accomplish your tasks.

Rethinking the interface to CPAN

As much as some people might want it to, Perl isn't dying, and Perl developers are not going the way of the Dodo. Andrew Hanenkamp has some pretty compelling reasons in this article that shows, while Perl might not be the most popular tool for web development, the community is very much alive and well. And it remains an in-demand programming skill.

Perl is Not Going Away

Here is a clear re-factoring of a terrible Perl routine into good Perl. The author pulls a terrible example of a Perl routine from the Microsoft Scripting Games and proceeds to show how to rewrite it to be more succinct, clean and Perl-ish. All in all, a great example of real Perl style! Detractors of Perl often point to code that looks like the bad example in this article and talk about how ugly Perl is, but here Andy Lester shows us that Perl code can be pretty and functional. Typically it's the programmer, and not the language that is responsible for bad code.

Good Perl code is the best form of evangelism

Here's a set of very useful CPAN modules for Java / Perl integration - good thing for folks that work in both languages to keep bookmarked!

10 Perl modules all Java developers should know

Some folks at the BBC have created a Perl version of the popular web framework, Ruby on Rails for their web projects. Unfortunately, the have not yet released the code as open source that I can find, but it does raise some interesting discussion. Not the least of which is, why not use an already mature Perl framework like Catalyst.

Perl on Rails

Object-Relational Mapping is a method of mapping a relational database to a class structure in an object-oriented programming language. In simpler terms, it takes your database structure and creates an interface that keeps you from having to write any SQL at all. Not only does it abstract the database, it abstracts the relational portion as well, making it simpler for you to work in an application. Learn more in the first part of this tutorial on Adding Object-Relational Mapping to your Perl Application.

Adding Object-Relational Mapping to your Perl Application - Part One

Over a course of a sick weekend, Michael Mol wrote up a cool single-player MUD (is that even possible?) in Perl. Check it out, download it and see if it inspires you to write your own, or contribute!

MUDdy - Kinda like a MUD, but single-player

This is a great roundup of the most popular Perl templating systems available. Use it as a base for your own testing and research to find the one that is right for your particular situation or group. Articles, no matter how thorough and good are no replacement for exploring choices yourself.

Choose the right template system for your team

Big or small, Perl benchmarks great when it comes to digging through text. As an example, lets build a little program that opens up a tab separated data file, and parses the columns into something we can use. Learn how to parse simple text files with Perl in this new tutorial.

How to parse simple text files with Perl