HTML::Embperl - Building dynamic Websites with Perl

Copyright (c) 1997-2002 Gerald Richter / ecos gmbh (www.ecos.de)

You may distribute under the terms of either the GNU General Public License or the Artistic License, as specified in the Perl README file.

THIS PACKAGE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

$Id: README,v 1.31.2.1 2003/01/22 08:23:35 richter Exp $

OVERVIEW

Embperl gives you the power to embed Perl code in your HTML documents and the ability to build your Web site out of small reusable objects in an object-oriented style. You can also take advantage of all the usual Perl modules, (including DBI for database access) use their functionality and easily include their output in your web pages.

Embperl has several features which are especially useful for creating HTML, including dynamic tables, form field processing, URL escaping/unescaping, session handling, and more.

Embperl is a server-side tool, which means that it's browser-independent. It can run in various ways: under mod_perl, as a CGI script, or offline.

For database access, there is a module called DBIx::Recordset, which works well together with Embperl and simplifies creating web pages with database content.

DOCUMENTATION

The following documentation is available within the distribution

Features of Embperl:            perldoc Features.pod
Introduction to Embperl:        perldoc Intro.pod
Introduction to EmbperlObject:  perldoc IntroEmbperlObject.pod
Installation of Embperl:        perldoc INSTALL.pod
Full documentation:             perldoc Embperl.pod
                                perldoc EmbperlObject.pm
                                perldoc Embperl/Mail.pm
Frequent Asked Questions:       perldoc Faq.pod
Tips and Tricks:                perldoc TipsAndTricks.pod
Changes:                        perldoc Changes.pod
Examples:                       eg/x/README
Sourcecode encryption:          crypto/README

All the above and further information can be found at the Embperl website

http://perl.apache.org/embperl/

The following documentation is available in GERMAN

Features of Embperl: perldoc FeaturesD.pod Introduction to Embperl: perldoc IntroD.pod Full documentation: perldoc EmbperlD.pod

All the above and further information can be found at the german Embperl website

http://www.ecos.de/embperl/

FEATURES

• Lets you embed Perl code into HTML documents. Perl code is evaluated at the server side and the result is sent to the browser.
• Offers various meta-commands for conditional and loop processing of the HTML documents.
• Automatically generates dynamic HTML tables/lists from Perl arrays or function calls (e.g. DBI fetch)
• Form data send to your document is placed in a hash
• Automatically inserts data from the form hash into HTML input, textarea and select tags
• Understands HTML and URL escaping and unescaping
• Handles per-user and per-module persistent session data for you. All you need to do is store and retrieve them to and from a special hash.
• Allows you to build your web-site out of components. Frequently used elements can be defined once and included in every page.
• EmbperlObject allows you to define the standard layout of your site just once and includes the neccessary components based on the uri. Your HTML documents just have to contain the unique stuff and not the common stuff like headers/footers or navigation bars. Also these common element can be overwritten in each subdirectory.
• Gives you the possibility to build libraries with a set of frequently used Elements or components, and make them available to the whole web-site in the same way as Perl modules are - well, modularized.
• Supports debugging of pages by generating a very detailed log file and making it accessible via the browser with a single click.
• Generates verbose error pages in which every error can link to the log file. This is ideal for debugging.
• Offers a lot of options for maximum configurability according to your personal tastes and needs.
• Fully integrated into Apache and mod_perl to acheive the best performance. Can also run as a CGI-script, offline or called from another Perl program.
• The Perl module DBIx::Recordset offers high level, easy to handle database access for Embperl.
• If you are concerned about security you can configure Embperl to use Safe.pm. This way, your documents can run in a safe namespace which can allow or disallow certain Perl opcodes.
• I<HTML::Embperl::Mail> gives you the possibility to send the result directly to a email address

COMPATIBILITY

I have tested Embperl successfully

on Linux 2.x with

perl5.004_04
perl5.005_01/02/03
perl5.6.0
perl5.6.1
perl5.7.1
perl5.7.2
perl5.8.0
apache_1.3.0 - apache_1.3.27
apache + mod_ssl
apache_ssl (Ben SSL)
Stronghold 2.2
Stronghold 2.4.1

on Windows NT/2000 with

perl5.004_04
perl5.005_xx
perl5.6.0
perl5.6.1
perl5.8.0
apache_1.3.0 - apache_1.3.27

on Windows 95/98 with

perl5.004_02 (binary distribution)
Offline mode
perl5.005_03 + apache_1.3.6

I know from other people that it works on many other UNIX systems

FEEDBACK and BUG REPORTS

Please let me know if you use or test this module. Bugs, questions, suggestions for things you would find useful, etc., are discussed on the Embperl mailing list. If you have a site that is using Embperl, I would love to mention it in the list of sites using Embperl (http://perl.apache.org/embperl/Sites.pod.1.html). Please drop me a mail with a short description, if your site uses Embperl.

The Embperl mailing list (embperl@perl.apache.org) is available for Embperl users and developers to share ideas, solve problems and discuss things related to Embperl To subscribe to this list, send mail to embperl-subscribe@perl.apache.org. To unsubscribe send email to embperl-unsubscribe@perl.apache.org .

There is an archive for the Embperl mailing list at http://www.ecos.de/~mailarc/embperl/

For mod_perl related questions you may search the mod_perl mailing list archive at http://forum.swarthmore.edu/epigone/modperl

COMMERICAL SUPPORT

You can get free support on the Embperl mailing list (see above). If you need commercial support, ecos can provide it for you. We offer:

• Consulting, assitance and training for you and your programmers
• Planning of your dynamic website
• Creating of parts or a whole website
• Fixing bugs in Embperl (also available for mod_perl)
• Adding new features

You can reach us via http://www.ecos.de or info@ecos.de For more information about our support see

http://www.ecos.de/x/index.htm/support/engrsupport.htm

HOW TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPEMENT OF EMBPERL

If you use and like Embperl and want to support it's ongoing developement you have two possibilities:

1. Send me patches for things you like to see in Embperl
2. Buy commercial support (see above). Also you may get the same answers to your questions on the mailing list, by buying the commercial support you not only buy support for yourself and can be sure you get an answer, you also give us the possibility to put more power in the further developement of Embperl.

LOGO

The Embperl distribution contains a "Powered by Embperl" Logo (EmbperlLogo.gif) which you may place at your Web-site if you like.

AUTHOR

G. Richter (richter@dev.ecos.de)