Scripting with Objects

Object-Oriented scripting with Perl and Python

Scripting languages are becoming increasingly important for software development. These higher-level languages, with their built-in easy-to-use data structures are convenient for programmers to use as "glue" languages for assembling multi-language applications and for quick prototyping of software architectures. Scripting languages are also used extensively in Web-based applications. Based on the same overall philosophy that made Programming with Objects such a wide success, Scripting with Objects takes a novel dual-language approach to learning advanced scripting with Perl and Python, the dominant languages of the genre. This method of comparing basic syntax and writing application-level scripts is designed to give readers a more comprehensive and expansive perspective on the subject.

Beginning with an overview of the importance of scripting languages--and how they differ from mainstream systems programming languages--the book explores:

• Regular expressions for string processing

• The notion of a class in Perl and Python

• Inheritance and polymorphism in Perl and Python

• Handling exceptions

• Abstract classes and methods in Perl and Python

• Weak references for memory management

• Scripting for graphical user interfaces

• Multithreaded scripting

• Scripting for network programming

• Interacting with databases

• Processing XML with Perl and Python