| To get the most out of this book, you'll need a basic understanding of XML, some Perl background, a PC or Unix workstation, and a Perl-supported OS (for example, Unix, Linux, Win32, Mac). You'll also need the following: -
Perl version 5.6 or above Binary Distributions are available at: http://www.perl.com/CPAN/ports/index.html Win32 ActivePerl port is available at: http://www. activestate .com Source distributions are available at: http://www.perl.com/pub/a/language/ info /software.html#sourcecode If you are using Microsoft Windows (NT, 98, 2000, or XP), we strongly recommend that you use ActivePerl (http://www.activestate.com). -
Text or programming editor Any ASCII text editor can be used with examples in this book. On Microsoft Windows, a simple notepad program can be used. Linux/Unix come with VI, and in many cases, PICO. Both will do just fine. -
XEmacs ”http://www.xemacs.org/ All the examples and programs in this book were typed using XEmacs. XEmacs is a very powerful programming editor and so much more. Binary versions are available for most major platforms. The authors have their preferences and usually work with one or all of the following tools during the course of a normal day: -
UltraEdit ”http://www.ultraedit.com/ Highly customizable Microsoft Windows programming editor. A trial version is available for download. -
XML Spy ”http://www.xmlspy.com/ Development environment for XML that runs under Microsoft Windows. A trial version is available for download. -
XML- related Perl modules Throughout the book, you will need to install Perl modules to run the examples. Appendix B contains the standard installation instructions for most platforms. You must have access to the internet to download and install Perl modules. CPAN (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network) contains all the modules described in this book.You will need a C/C++ compiler and the make utility ( nmake with Microsoft Windows Visual C++) to install them. The Microsoft Windows Perl distribution from ActivePerl is distributed with the ppm utility, which can be used to install precompiled module binaries from repositories using simple commands (see Appendix B). If you are using ActivePerl and ppm , you will not need a C/C++ compiler on your machine to install Perl modules. The main ActiveState Perl module repository is hosted by ActiveState (http://www.activestate.com). A number of other repositories are available. For example, the authors host their own repository at http://www.xmlproj.com. Microsoft Windows binaries for all the Perl modules used in this book can be installed from http://www.xmlproj.com. We will update the modules as new versions become available. |
