Saturday, October 05, 2002

Perl and CPAN for the Unknowing. Perl and CPAN for the Unknowing For those who haven't ever done more than a few lines of Perl (and, amazingly, that's most people seemingly), Perl remains this cryptic, bizarre language that often looks rife with "comic book cursing" --- from all the regular expression syntax.  And I'd have to agree with that.  Perl is cryptic but it also has one of the single best assets in the history of programming, CPAN.  CPAN or Comprehensive Perl Archive Network is a giant distributed source code repository where you can find just about anything.  And the only way to illustrate it is to really post my daily CPAN mailing from Pudge.  Here's what was new yesterday.  New CPAN Distributions for October  1, 2002 posted by pudge on Tuesday October 01, @18:30 (modules)   Link              |   * [0]Apache-ASP-2.41 -- Active Server Pages for Apache with mod_perl   * [1]Apache-iTunes-0.06 -- control iTunes from mod_perl   * [2]Benchmark-Thread-Size-0.03 -- report size of threads for different     code approaches   * [3]CGI-SpeedyCGI-2.21 -- Speed up perl scripts by running them     persistently.   * [4]ConfigReader-Simple-1.14 -- Simple configuration file parser   * [5]Decision-Markov-0.02 -- Markov models for decision analysis   * [6]EasyTCP-0.16 -- Easily create secure, bandwidth-friendly TCP/IP     clients and servers   * [7]Encode-compat-0.03 -- Encode.pm emulation layer   * [8]Graphics-RGBManipulate-0.01 -- HSV adjustment tool for RGB colours   * [9]HTML-TagReader-0.12 -- Perl extension module for reading     html/sgml/xml files by tags.   * [10]HTTP-Size-0.4 -- Get the byte size of an internet resource   * [11]Log-Agent-0.303 -- logging agent   * [12]Log-Dispatch-Jabber-0.2 -- Log messages via Jabber   * [13]Mac-iTunes-0.7   * [14]Net-DNAT-0.07 -- Psuedo Layer7 Packet Processer   * [15]Netscape-Cache-0.45 -- object class for accessing Netscape cache     files   * [16]PDF-Report-1.00 -- A wrapper written for PDF::API2   * [17]PersistentPerl-2.21 -- Speed up perl scripts by running them     persistently.   * [18]Petal-0.74 -- Perl Template Attribute Language   * [19]Scraper-2.26 -- framework for scraping results from search     engines.   * [20]Set-IntRange-5.1 -- Sets of Integers   * [21]Test-Data-0.6 -- test functions for particular variable types   * [22]Test-Data-0.7 -- test functions for particular variable types   * [23]Test-Manifest-0.8 -- interact with a t/test_manifest file   * [24]Test-Prereq-0.07 -- check if Makefile.PL has the right     pre-requisites   * [25]Thread-Conveyor-0.13 -- transport of any data-structure between     threads   * [26]Thread-Conveyor-Monitored-0.09 -- monitor a belt for specific     content   * [27]Thread-Exit-0.04 -- provide thread-local exit(), BEGIN {} and END     {}   * [28]Thread-Pool-0.28 -- group of threads for performing similar jobs   * [29]Thread-Pool-Resolve-0.08 -- resolve logs asynchronously   * [30]Thread-Rand-0.04 -- repeatable random sequences between threads   * [31]Thread-Serialize-0.05 -- serialize data-structures between     threads   * [32]Thread-Signal-1.06 -- deliver a signal to a thread   * [33]Thread-Status-0.03 -- report stack status of all running threads   * [34]Thread-Tie-0.08 -- tie variables into a thread of their own   * [35]Thread-Use-0.03 -- use a module inside a thread only   * [36]Tk-DateEntry-1.34 -- Drop down calendar widget for selecting     dates.   * [37]dbMan-0.25   * [38]load-0.02 -- control when subroutines will be loaded   * [39]load-0.03 -- control when subroutines will be loaded  That's right -- everything from thread code to PDF creation to database routines to iTunes stuff to an ASP compatible page interpreter written in Perl for Apache so you don't have to run IIS if you don't want to and more.  And that's just one day worh of updates.  I'm certainly not saying that Perl is perfect by any means or that even CPAN is perfect (it's not) but it is a tremendous resource that many folks just aren't aware of.  If you've ever wondered why people are so enthusiastic about Perl, CPAN's a large part of it. [The FuzzyBlog!] 8:11:51 AM    comment []

I think I just found my new video card for my computer.  Wow! 8:09:14 AM    comment []

Good News ! Tinderbox is Getting Better and Better. Good News !  Tinderbox is Getting Better and Better I just exchanged a nice email with Mark Bernstein of Eastgate Systems and the author of Tinderbox, a very cool blogging application for OS X.  I've known Mark for like 15 years now and he really, really understands this stuff.  Apparently TinderBox is going well and getting a great user community going.  That's just so cool when a small company brings out a good product and does well.  And here's a look at how TinderBox actually looks (click on it, it's cool): [ The Tinderbox Weblog ].  Recommended. [The FuzzyBlog!] 8:04:54 AM    comment []

Life without a News Aggregator - the thing I really missed the most in the 10 days after my hard drive crash was the News Aggregator.  In fact, I really didn't miss posting at all (in a few days I'll try to describe the wonderfully liberating feeling of not being able to post to the weblog).  But, losing the News Aggregator was a total catastrophe.  At first I tried to manually visit some of the weblogs that I used to subscribe to, but it was too hard, and too time consuming.  So I completely lost track of what was going on in the old cyber-haunts.  That was not liberating.  It was downright frustrating. After I got a new hard drive and started loading software I was hesitant to use Radio, even the News Aggregator part, because I knew that I would need to somehow resynchronize my local stuff with the stuff out there on the Userland server.  I didn't want to use Radio at all until I knew that I wasn't going to wreak more havoc upon my weblog.  But then I remembered reading a review of Amphetadesk, so I downloaded a copy of that and give it a whirl.  It was okay, but nothing like the News Aggregator in Radio so I quickly got discouraged and gave up.  One major problem is that you can't delete individual posts that you have already read, and there is no add on tool like rssDistiller for Amphetadesk. And it doesn't run in the background gathering news automatically.  You have to tell it to do a scan.  I know.  Perhaps that doesn't seem like such a big deal, but, having been weened on the Radio News Aggregator, it was a major inconvenience to me.  I concluded right away that, even though I didn't really care so much about posting, I had to get my Radio News Aggregator to function again. So now I'm back in the saddle, and thanks to Lawrence Lee I have my old suscriptions restored and I'm at peace.  In fact just a few minutes ago I read my rss feed of new syndicated news feeds and found two new ones on Law that I followed here and here.  All I had to do was simply click on the Radio Coffee Mug button and add them to my suscriptions...just as easy as pie.  Now this is Heaven... Later... I heard from the Morbus Iff, who is the creator of Amphetadesk, and he points out that I have some of my facts wrong about what that product can do.  I am going to give the product a whirl this weekend and post a new assessment.  I was wrong about it not running in the background, for example.  You can configure it to scan at regular intervals.  Anyway, more about this later, after I have had a chance to play with it. [Ernie the Attorney] 8:00:43 AM    comment []

The flaw in the Berman P2P bill - is not that it is ill-intentioned, says Professor Ed Felten in written testimony to the House Subcommittee.  One major problem is its attempt to allow self-help by copyright holders over the Internet through a flawed definition of "peer-to-peer."  And the bill, as currently written, authorizes self-help attacks on the World Wide Web itself, and not just illegal music file sharers who use services like KaZaa and Gnutella: "It seems difficult to redraft the bill to carve out the Web and other legitimate network services, without creating an escape hatch for the types of peer-to-peer networks that the bill’s supporters would like to see covered. The reason for this difficulty is simple: there is really little difference at a technical level between the Web and peer-to-peer systems like KaZaa and Gnutella." Of course, circumspection suggests that we should avoid regulating an environment that is developing rapidly and is becoming a pervasive influence in everyday life.  But cautious wisdom is not the way of the legislator.  On the other hand, I think at some point the repeated efforts of well-lobbied lawmakers to shape the Internet, not for the greater good, but purely to help the entertainment industry will complete its Karmic circle and wind up biting them in the ass.   I'm not saying we shouldn't be worried about laws like the Berman bill (we should, because these lawmakers are obviously quicker to accept the views of Michael Eisner than they are to contemplate the technical concerns of Ed Felten), but as the Web's populace of users grows it will be much harder for these politicians to hide their agendas.  It's one thing to pass a bill that adds a tax to the sale of home audio recording devices (no one is likely to notice the effect of suchlegislation), but when the Internet starts experiencing problems that can be traced to Content King's trying to use self-help to protect their venal interests you are going to see politicians become much more wary of passing laws just to help Disney boost profits a tad more. [Ernie the Attorney] 7:50:49 AM    comment []

My Life As An RSS Icon. "Radio Wish: [John Robb] Wouldn't it be interesting to have an RSS variant (new name obviously) for subscribing to personal contact data off of weblogs?  Name, weblog name, weblog location, physical address (or as much as you want to provide), spam free e-mail account location, IM link to username, location of RSS feed, Bio info, bio pic, resume, etc.  To a large extent this would replace my bookmark and e-mail contact list.  I truly think that weblogs are starting to become global 24x7 business cards.  This would help me collect them. Answer: [Kunekt] Kunekt Cards make your contact information available as an RSS or RDF (News) feed." [Don W Strickland: RadioFAQ] This is exactly what I mean when I say that ever since I've discovered RSS and news aggregators, I've started looking at my life through RSS-colored glasses. So in this spirit, here's my Kunekt card. Now what? [The Shifted Librarian] 7:48:57 AM    comment []

Feed Filtered Google News Into Your Aggregator. Gnews2RSS at VoidStar.com "Search Google News and get the results in RSS format. A neat tool, but not guaranteed by its author. I did a test run and it seemed to work fine. The headlines plus content are available. Let's hope it sticks around for awhile. [Library Stuff, thanks to Library Techlog] Score another find for Matthew and Steven! It's working for me, too. [The Shifted Librarian] 7:45:48 AM    comment []

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Are A Terrible Thing To Waste. And now my day ends on a surreal note: 20 Tons Of Stolen Chocolate Found: "A trailer filled with 20 tons of Hershey's chocolate that disappeared more than two years ago has been found in Cumberland County. Most of the chocolate, estimated to be worth $80,000, was still inside. Police said the trailer was stolen on Aug. 19, 2000, from a Bethel Township truck stop. It was found parked on Harrisburg Pike near Carlisle in September and had been parked for about two weeks before officers investigated.... In this case, the thief got nearly 33,000 cases of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Fifth Avenue candy bars and Peppermint Patties. Some of the candy, 678 boxes, is missing. Now the rest of it will be destroyed, because its expiration date was about a year and a half ago." [NBC5 News] [The Shifted Librarian] 7:45:07 AM    comment []

Joke Crowned King. World's Funniest Joke No Laughing Matter! "The world's funniest joke was unveiled by scientists today at the end of the largest study of humour ever undertaken.... The LaughLab experiment conducted by psychologist Dr Richard Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, attracted more than 40,000 jokes and almost two million ratings. As well as identifying the joke which appealed most to people around the world, the experiment revealed wide humour differences between nations. Scans conducted on people being told jokes also identified the brain's laughter centre - a region near the back of the frontal lobes. The joke which received the highest global ratings was submitted by 31-year-old psychiatrist Gurpal Gosall, from Manchester. It reads as follows: Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps: 'My friend is dead! What can I do?' The operator says: 'Calm down, I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.' There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: 'OK, now what?' Dr Wiseman said the joke was interesting because it worked across many different countries and appealed to men and women and young and old alike.... Computer analysis of the data also showed that jokes containing 103 words were thought to be especially funny. The winning 'hunters' joke was 102 words long. Many jokes submitted contained references to animals. Jokes mentioning ducks were seen as funnier than other jokes. The researchers were also able to pinpoint the funniest moment of the year. People found the jokes funniest at 6.03pm on October 7." [icWales, via MetaFilter] The observations about humor by nationality are quite interesting, so you should read the whole article for yourself. I do have to agree with one of the MeFi comments about the one, true funniest joke in the world. [The Shifted Librarian] 7:43:23 AM    comment []