Scripting with Objects (PDF)

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

This book serves as an excellent textbook for a one-semester
undergraduate course on advanced scripting in which the students
have some prior experience using Perl and Python, or for a
two-semester course for students who will be experiencing scripting
for the first time. Scripting with Objects is also an ideal
resource for industry professionals who are making the transition
from Perl to Python, or vice versa.