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Fixing Unix/Linux/POSIX Filenames

Traditionally, Unix/Linux/POSIX filenames can be almost any sequence of bytes, and their meaning is unassigned. The only real rules are that "/" is always the directory separator, and that filenames can't contain byte 0 (because this is the terminator). Although this is flexible, this creates many unnecessary problems. In particular, this lack of limitations makes it unnecessarily difficult to write correct programs (enabling many security flaws), makes it impossible to consistently and accurately display filenames, causes portability problems, and confuses users. more ....

Cultured Perl: Automating UNIX system administration with Perl.

UNIX system administration, always a thorny problem, is easier with the right tools. In this installment , Teodor presents ideas on the use of Perl to streamline and foolproof system administration. The system configuration engine, cfengine, is an extremely important tool in this context.

Debugging Perl

The standard Perl distribution comes with a debugger, although it's really just another Perl program, perl5db.pl. Since it is just a program, I can use it as the basis for writing my own debuggers to suit my needs, or I can use the interface perl5db.pl provides to configure its actions. That's just the beginning, though. read more...

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