Certified Internet Webmaster - CIW

Author

Learning Perl

hopewell

2001-08-14, 5:24 pm

I am self-studying for CIW Perl exam. I am not clear if I need a server or not execute the language. Can some please advise what I exactly have to have to learn Perl on my computer? I don't have a server of my own, and my ISP, Comcast cable, will not let me have access to their's.

hacker

2001-08-14, 5:34 pm

The best way to learn is to have a hosting account and write and install scripts on them if you do not have a spare server lying around.

I have found that some of the cheapest plans are from www.worldzonepro.net. They charge $48/yr and that should be sufficient. You don't need a domain name as you can use yourname.worldzonepro.net.

Access Abilities: CPanel, Telnet, SSH, FTP.
Space: 120 megs.
Bandwidth: 4096 megs per month.
CGI Abilities: Yes
Microsoft Frontpage: Available at no charge.
FTP Accounts: 4
Email Accounts: 4
MySQL Databases: 4
Subdomains: 4
No Filetype Limitations (ie: php, cgi, etc)

Domains Name Based
File Size Limit None
Banners None
Control Panel CPanel
SSI Yes
PHP Yes
MySQL Yes
Cron Files Yes
CGI Yes
Telnet / SSH Yes
M.Frontpage Available - Free
Logging Stats Yes

Cost: $48 per year - Yearly Only

There are a couple of free ones, but they are slow, very slow.

hopewell

2001-08-15, 8:36 am

Hacker, thank you very much for your thorough reply. Really really appreciate it! Now, on to my Perl...

kallisto

2001-08-15, 9:06 am

IF all you are doing is studying PERL and just trying practice excercises there is no reason to pay the money out. Personal Web Server will allow you to function as a web server and execute scripts. This is not recommended for a live (actual functioning server for outside people to access) but if all you are doing is studying and practicing scripts it is GREAT! You can download PWS from Microsofts Developer Website for free. It runs on Win 95, Win 98, and Win NT 4.0. It is also available on the Win 98 CD itself and is located on the Win NT Option Pack. This is a much better resource than paying a hosting company to run a site that you are just practicing with.

Mandy M. McCool
MCIWD, CIWCI, CIWP, CIWA, N+, A+

cboyles

2001-08-15, 2:44 pm

You can also pull down an Apache Server from Apache.org. I have found that running Apache on Windows 98 for a testing environment works very well.
Also remember you may execute the perl scripts from the command line.
The DZSoft perl editor has a Command Line and Browser Emulator inside of it. THis is also a useful tool, and may be found at www.downloads.com
Cheers
Casey

hopewell

2001-08-15, 6:58 pm

Thank you, kallisto. What do you know? I do have PWS. Thank you, CBoyles. I'll definitely check out that Apache & Perl editor.

sblair

2001-08-16, 8:09 am

hopewell

i used to work for prosofttraining.com which is the company who owns the ciw cert. they create the curriculum and the exams. i have passed foundations, javascript, perl, and app. dev. i have also taught them. in order to take the perl exam all you need is the perl interpreter you do not need to call on perl scripts from a web server. you will also need the dbi and odbc-dbd drivers along with access. calling on perl scripts from a web server is covered in app. dev. however, learning to call on perl scripts on a web server is good to know and has real world application let alone the fact that it prepares you for app. dev. should you want to take that exam. anyway, hope this helps.

sblair

2001-08-16, 8:13 am

i see you are a ciwci and also a ciwp. i believe u passed the app. dev. exam. is this true? if so, i'd like to hear what you thought of it and how you prepared. i just passed it last week and have not found too many others who have taken it let alone passed it. also, do you get alot of ciw classes to teach? are you employed with an atp and work solely for them or are do you travel around to teach? do the ciw classes provide full-time work for you? i used to work for prosofttraining.com as a full-time instructor travelling all over but the demand for having their own instructors pretty much disappeared. thanks for your time.

hopewell

2001-08-16, 11:35 am

SBlair, thank you for your input. I have donwloaded DZSoft Perl editor, as recommended by CBoyles. It works beautifully! When you say Perl interpreter, do you mean such editor as DZSoft?

My next & final CIW plan is to study for the Server Adm. Therefore, I will eventually need (& hopefully know enuf by then) a server that will avail my languages (including ASP and PHP).
Having said this, 2 questions, SBlair.

do you recommend any particular hosting service (since sooooo many are out there)? OR
Right my pc is a 2 gigabytes Win ME edition. I am looking towards purchaing a Win NT pc that I can utilize to set my site w/. Do you have any advice on this?

Thank you.

sblair

2001-08-16, 12:42 pm

hopewell

if ur perl scripts are running then u have the perl interpreter. perl scripts are run using an interpreter instead of a compiler. as for ur hosting question, i really don't have a recommendation. i use a free web hosting site from www.20m.com and i don't do anything scripting with it so i'm not sure how powerful it is beyond using static content. are u planning on hosting ur own site? if so then i would think nt would be the way to go using IIS. however, u may be able to run IIS with ME but i'm not sure. if ur just using a web server for the ciw classes then pws, IIS, or apache will suffice and at least 1 of the 3 can be run on ME/nt/win2000/98/95. hope this helps.

hopewell

2001-08-16, 4:25 pm

Thank you very much for your reply.

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