file parsers

Hello all,

I have a ms access db that spits out all the zip codes of our
subscribers. I'd like to write a program that can parse, group, and
count like numbers, eventually for relay to a graphic interface. Being
new to perl, where is a good place to start? I'm sure there are many
programs written for this exact task, yet that would rob me of a
frustrating learning experience.

On Fri, 3 Jun 2005, lance w wrote:

> I have a ms access db that spits out all the zip codes of our
> subscribers. I'd like to write a program that can parse, group, and
> count like numbers, eventually for relay to a graphic interface. Being
> new to perl, where is a good place to start?

Try DBI and DBD::ODBC.

Most database programming in Perl is done with the DBI (database
interface) CPAN module, and a DBD (database driver) for the database
engine you're working with. In that way, the same program code can be
applied to different databases with few if any changes -- in general,
you may need to rewrite some SQL statements, but that's about it. You
can read about DBI on cpan.org at this page:

<http://search.cpan.org/~timb/DBI/DBI.pm>

On Windows, most database programming goes through the ODBC bridge,
which is more or less exactly what DBI provides for Perl. Therefore, the
easiest way to get Perl code working with most databases on Windows is
to use the ODBC driver, DBD::ODBC. Read about it here:

<http://search.cpan.org/dist/DBD-ODBC/ODBC.pm>

The standard book for this is _Programming the Perl DBI_:

<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/perldbi/>

There's a sample chapter online explaining the general architecture of
DBI and how to work with it in your programs:

<http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/perl...apter/ch04.html>

Take a look over this material, try writing some basic scripts with it,
then come back to the list when you have more specific questions.




--
Chris Devers