Contents

About the Author 

.......................................................................................... xi

About the Technical Reviewers  

.................................................... xiii

Acknowledgments 

.............................................................................................xv

Introduction 

................................................................................................. xvii

What You Need to Know 

.................................................................................... xxi

System Requirements 

....................................................................................... xxii

Perl Version 

...................................................................................................... xxii

Chapter 1

CPAN 

............................................................................................. 1

Why Contribute to CPAN? 

.................................................................................. 1

Network Topology 

.................................................................................................. 3

Browsing CPAN 

........................................................................................................ 6

Searching CPAN 

.................................................................................................... 12

Installing CPAN Modules 

................................................................................ 13

ActivePerl PPM 

.................................................................................................... 19

Bundles 

................................................................................................................... 20

CPAN's Future 

...................................................................................................... 20

Summary 

................................................................................................................... 20

Chapter 2

Perl Module Basics 

....................................................... 21

Using Modules 

...................................................................................................... 22

Packages 

................................................................................................................. 24

Modules 

................................................................................................................... 27

Read the Fine Manuals 

..................................................................................... 64

Summary 

................................................................................................................... 64

vii