5 questions...

Anon

My first question - Is Perl used to program PHP and CGI?

If the answer to this question is yes, then ignore all other questions and go straight to the third question.

My second question is - Where can I download good PHP and CGI editors? I did a search and found this thread: http://www.phpbuilder.com/forum/archives/1/2001/5/4/116728 for PHP editors, but when I put the link into my browser, I didn’t go anywhere.

My third question - Where can I download a good freeware Perl editor?

My fourth question - does anybody know a good site for tutorials? If Perl, PHP, and CGI are all totally different, then I'll need one site aimed at PHP, one on CGI, and one leaning more towards Perl.

My fifth and final question (WHEW!) – If PHP, Perl and CGI are all different, then which one is the best? Or is that like kind of like adding apples, oranges, and grapes?

Thanks, 🙂
Rick

Anon

Perl is a server sided language much like PHP, CGI is more or less a way of talking from the web server a child process that returns something. Perl and PHP can live in the CGI format
As for editors I like editpad, some prefer something that does syntax highlighting its a matter of what you like better.
Perl like PHP is a text/script language again like before break out your favorite text editor and have fun
yes they are different
a. PHP www.php.net
b. Perl www.perl.net
Who is better is splitting hairs there, as each has a different usage. Perl can be web and shell based, while PHP is gear toward web based, but can be run from the shell.

mrmufin

Perl is (usually) an interpreted programming language. So is PHP. Different languages, with a bunch o' similarities. CGI (common gateway interface) is a method of allowing programs (most often via HTTP) to interact with other programs. CGI applications can be written in many languages, from C/C++ to Perl, to UNIX shells; even PHP (if the interpreter is built as a stand-alone binary, not a DSO.)
If you're in Windoze-world, I haven't got a clue where you can find a REALLY good code editor; but you might wanna start with "Arachnophilia". Do a google search for 'Arachnophilia text-editor'. It's free. It's adequate. And it does pretty good HTML/Perl/PHP/JavaScript highlighting, and has a built-in browser. If you're from Linux/BSD/Unix-world... I'm quite pleased with 'Kate', which does decent syntax highlighting for Perl, PHP, C/C++, etc. It's free, and a standard component of the KDE-2 desktop environment.
See answer #2.
Phpbuilder.com offers fine tutorials and source snippets. A really good way to learn is RTFM. Read The Manual. Check out other folks' code. Buy a book. Or two. Or three. Read 'em. Use 'em. Learn It. That process never ends.
Yes. Apples, Grapes & limes. Perl is a 'general-purpose' language. It's used for LOTS of different thangs, from CGI applications to well, you name it. It's a BIG language with tons of special characters. It's a lotta fun, but Perl looks sorta like... well.. C-code after a hit of acid. PHP is 'mission-specific'. Its primary purpose is a server-side web programming language. That's what it was designed for, and it does it quite well. However, PHP doesn't (yet) have as broad a deployment base as Perl, but it's really, really popular, and more and more hosting services provide PHP interpreters on their servers. Unlike CGI programs, which run as seperate processes, PHP may be run within the web server process, which may (or may not, if you're not careful) run more efficiently, overall.

You're at PHP builder dot com... I'd bet I'm not the only one here that's partial to PHP...

Have fun...

Anon

thanks guys, really helpful. 🙂

L8r