FAQ sync.

p4raw-id: //depot/perl@18604

7 files changed, 58 insertions, 48 deletions

diff --git a/pod/perlfaq.pod b/pod/perlfaq.pod
index 73f12e7712..cc2c185bbf 100644
--- a/pod/perlfaq.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfaq.pod
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 =head1 NAME
 
-perlfaq - frequently asked questions about Perl ($Date: 2003/01/03 20:00:25 $)
+perlfaq - frequently asked questions about Perl ($Date: 2003/01/26 17:45:46 $)
 
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
@@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ What's wrong with always quoting "$vars"?
 
 =item *
 
-Why don't my <<HERE documents work?
+Why don't my E<lt>E<lt>HERE documents work?
 
 =item *
 
@@ -733,7 +733,7 @@ How come when I open a file read-write it wipes it out?
 
 =item *
 
-Why do I sometimes get an "Argument list too long" when I use <*>?
+Why do I sometimes get an "Argument list too long" when I use E<lt>*E<gt>?
 
 =item *
 
@@ -753,7 +753,7 @@ How can I lock a file?
 
 =item *
 
-Why can't I just open(FH, ">file.lock")?
+Why can't I just open(FH, "E<gt>file.lock")?
 
 =item *
 
@@ -1012,7 +1012,7 @@ What's the difference between deep and shallow binding?
 
 =item *
 
-Why doesn't "my($foo) = <FILE>;" work right?
+Why doesn't "my($foo) = E<lt>FILEE<gt>;" work right?
 
 =item *
 
diff --git a/pod/perlfaq2.pod b/pod/perlfaq2.pod
index 22f7ad7ce0..45738abc26 100644
--- a/pod/perlfaq2.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfaq2.pod
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 =head1 NAME
 
-perlfaq2 - Obtaining and Learning about Perl ($Revision: 1.18 $, $Date: 2002/12/06 07:40:11 $)
+perlfaq2 - Obtaining and Learning about Perl ($Revision: 1.20 $, $Date: 2003/01/26 17:50:56 $)
 
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
@@ -171,24 +171,33 @@ assistance:
 
 =head2 What are the Perl newsgroups on Usenet?  Where do I post questions?
 
-The now defunct comp.lang.perl newsgroup has been superseded by the
-following groups:
+Several groups devoted to the Perl language are on Usenet:
 
     comp.lang.perl.announce 		Moderated announcement group
-    comp.lang.perl.misc     		Very busy group about Perl in general
-    comp.lang.perl.moderated            Moderated discussion group
+    comp.lang.perl.misc     		High traffic general Perl discussion
+    comp.lang.perl.moderated        Moderated discussion group
     comp.lang.perl.modules  		Use and development of Perl modules
     comp.lang.perl.tk           	Using Tk (and X) from Perl
 
     comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi 	Writing CGI scripts for the Web.
 
-There is also a Usenet gateway to Perl mailing lists sponsored by perl.org at
-nntp://nntp.perl.org , a web interface to the same lists at
-http://nntp.perl.org/group/ and these lists are also available under the
-C<perl.*> hierarchy at http://groups.google.com . Other groups are listed at
-http://lists.perl.org/ ( also known as http://lists.cpan.org/ ).
+Some years ago, comp.lang.perl was divided into those groups, and
+comp.lang.perl itself officially removed.  While that group may still
+be found on some news servers, it is unwise to use it, because
+postings there will not appear on news servers which honour the
+official list of group names.  Use comp.lang.perl.misc for topics
+which do not have a more-appropriate specific group.
 
-A nice place to ask questions is the PerlMonks site, http://www.perlmonks.org/
+There is also a Usenet gateway to Perl mailing lists sponsored by
+perl.org at nntp://nntp.perl.org , a web interface to the same lists
+at http://nntp.perl.org/group/ and these lists are also available
+under the C<perl.*> hierarchy at http://groups.google.com . Other
+groups are listed at http://lists.perl.org/ ( also known as
+http://lists.cpan.org/ ).
+
+A nice place to ask questions is the PerlMonks site, 
+http://www.perlmonks.org/ , or the Perl Beginners mailing list
+http://lists.perl.org/showlist.cgi?name=beginners .
 
 Note that none of the above are supposed to write your code for you:
 asking questions about particular problems or general advice is fine,
@@ -230,7 +239,7 @@ of real-world examples, mini-tutorials, and complete programs is:
 	by Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington,
 	    with Foreword by Larry Wall
 	ISBN 1-56592-243-3 [1st Edition August 1998]
-	http://perl.oreilly.com/cookbook/
+	http://perl.oreilly.com/catalog/cookbook/
 
 If you're already a seasoned programmer, then the Camel Book might
 suffice for you to learn Perl from.  If you're not, check out the
diff --git a/pod/perlfaq3.pod b/pod/perlfaq3.pod
index 7843dbff7d..7c7527edae 100644
--- a/pod/perlfaq3.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfaq3.pod
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 =head1 NAME
 
-perlfaq3 - Programming Tools ($Revision: 1.31 $, $Date: 2003/01/03 20:10:11 $)
+perlfaq3 - Programming Tools ($Revision: 1.32 $, $Date: 2003/01/26 17:41:53 $)
 
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
@@ -42,17 +42,12 @@ operations typically found in symbolic debuggers.
 
 =head2 Is there a Perl shell?
 
-In general, not yet.  There is psh available at
-
-    http://www.focusresearch.com/gregor/psh
-
-Which includes the following description:
-
-    The Perl Shell is a shell that combines the interactive nature
-    of a Unix shell with the power of Perl. The goal is to eventually
-    have a full featured shell that behaves as expected for normal
-    shell activity. But, the Perl Shell will use Perl syntax and
-    functionality for control-flow statements and other things.
+The psh (Perl sh) is currently at version 1.8. The Perl Shell is a
+shell that combines the interactive nature of a Unix shell with the
+power of Perl. The goal is a full featured shell that behaves as
+expected for normal shell activity and uses Perl syntax and
+functionality for control-flow statements and other things.
+You can get psh at http://www.focusresearch.com/gregor/psh/ .
 
 The Shell.pm module (distributed with Perl) makes Perl try commands
 which aren't part of the Perl language as shell commands.  perlsh
diff --git a/pod/perlfaq4.pod b/pod/perlfaq4.pod
index f7215e2eef..b77567a2c6 100644
--- a/pod/perlfaq4.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfaq4.pod
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 =head1 NAME
 
-perlfaq4 - Data Manipulation ($Revision: 1.39 $, $Date: 2003/01/03 20:06:21 $)
+perlfaq4 - Data Manipulation ($Revision: 1.40 $, $Date: 2003/01/26 17:43:21 $)
 
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ Using the CPAN module Bit::Vector:
 
 =item How do I convert from decimal to hexadecimal
 
-Using sprint:
+Using sprintf:
 
     $hex = sprintf("%X", 3735928559);
 
@@ -811,9 +811,6 @@ values of a hash if you use a slice:
 
 =head2 How do I pad a string with blanks or pad a number with zeroes?
 
-(This answer contributed by Uri Guttman, with kibitzing from
-Bart Lateur.)
-
 In the following examples, C<$pad_len> is the length to which you wish
 to pad the string, C<$text> or C<$num> contains the string to be padded,
 and C<$pad_char> contains the padding character. You can use a single
@@ -828,13 +825,16 @@ right with blanks and it will truncate the result to a maximum length of
 C<$pad_len>.
 
     # Left padding a string with blanks (no truncation):
-    $padded = sprintf("%${pad_len}s", $text);
+	$padded = sprintf("%${pad_len}s", $text);
+	$padded = sprintf("%*s", $pad_len, $text);  # same thing
 
     # Right padding a string with blanks (no truncation):
-    $padded = sprintf("%-${pad_len}s", $text);
+	$padded = sprintf("%-${pad_len}s", $text);
+	$padded = sprintf("%-*s", $pad_len, $text); # same thing
 
     # Left padding a number with 0 (no truncation):
-    $padded = sprintf("%0${pad_len}d", $num);
+	$padded = sprintf("%0${pad_len}d", $num);
+	$padded = sprintf("%0*d", $pad_len, $num); # same thing
 
     # Right padding a string with blanks using pack (will truncate):
     $padded = pack("A$pad_len",$text);
@@ -958,13 +958,13 @@ Stringification also destroys arrays.
     print "@lines";		# WRONG - extra blanks
     print @lines;		# right
 
-=head2 Why don't my <<HERE documents work?
+=head2 Why don't my E<lt>E<lt>HERE documents work?
 
 Check for these three things:
 
 =over 4
 
-=item There must be no space after the << part.
+=item There must be no space after the E<lt>E<lt> part.
 
 =item There (probably) should be a semicolon at the end.
 
diff --git a/pod/perlfaq5.pod b/pod/perlfaq5.pod
index c04f3c6872..9e30b54cfd 100644
--- a/pod/perlfaq5.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfaq5.pod
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 =head1 NAME
 
-perlfaq5 - Files and Formats ($Revision: 1.27 $, $Date: 2002/12/06 07:40:11 $)
+perlfaq5 - Files and Formats ($Revision: 1.28 $, $Date: 2003/01/26 17:45:46 $)
 
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
@@ -434,7 +434,7 @@ isn't as exclusive as you might wish.
 
 See also the new L<perlopentut> if you have it (new for 5.6).
 
-=head2 Why do I sometimes get an "Argument list too long" when I use <*>?
+=head2 Why do I sometimes get an "Argument list too long" when I use E<lt>*E<gt>?
 
 The C<< <> >> operator performs a globbing operation (see above).
 In Perl versions earlier than v5.6.0, the internal glob() operator forks
@@ -537,7 +537,7 @@ L<perlopentut/"File Locking"> if you have it (new for 5.6).
 
 =back
 
-=head2 Why can't I just open(FH, ">file.lock")?
+=head2 Why can't I just open(FH, "E<gt>file.lock")?
 
 A common bit of code B<NOT TO USE> is this:
 
diff --git a/pod/perlfaq7.pod b/pod/perlfaq7.pod
index 6eb2a6b4bf..a144457de9 100644
--- a/pod/perlfaq7.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfaq7.pod
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 =head1 NAME
 
-perlfaq7 - General Perl Language Issues ($Revision: 1.12 $, $Date: 2002/12/06 07:40:11 $)
+perlfaq7 - General Perl Language Issues ($Revision: 1.13 $, $Date: 2003/01/26 17:45:46 $)
 
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
@@ -519,7 +519,7 @@ However, dynamic variables (aka global, local, or package variables)
 are effectively shallowly bound.  Consider this just one more reason
 not to use them.  See the answer to L<"What's a closure?">.
 
-=head2 Why doesn't "my($foo) = <FILE>;" work right?
+=head2 Why doesn't "my($foo) = E<lt>FILEE<gt>;" work right?
 
 C<my()> and C<local()> give list context to the right hand side
 of C<=>.  The <FH> read operation, like so many of Perl's
diff --git a/pod/perlfaq8.pod b/pod/perlfaq8.pod
index 31af4bd7df..164d23529e 100644
--- a/pod/perlfaq8.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfaq8.pod
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 =head1 NAME
 
-perlfaq8 - System Interaction ($Revision: 1.16 $, $Date: 2003/01/03 20:03:57 $)
+perlfaq8 - System Interaction ($Revision: 1.17 $, $Date: 2003/01/26 17:44:04 $)
 
 =head1 DESCRIPTION
 
@@ -1036,9 +1036,15 @@ in L<perlfaq8/"How do I start a process in the background?">.
 
 =head2 How do I use an SQL database?
 
-There are a number of excellent interfaces to SQL databases.  See the
-DBD::* modules available from http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/DBD/ .
-A lot of information on this can be found at http://dbi.perl.org/
+The DBI module provides an abstract interface to most database
+servers and types, including Oracle, DB2, Sybase, mysql, Postgresql,
+ODBC, and flat files.  The DBI module accesses each database type
+through a database driver, or DBD.  You can see a complete list of
+available drivers on CPAN: http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/DBD/ .
+You can read more about DBI on http://dbi.perl.org .
+
+Other modules provide more specific access: Win32::ODBC, Alzabo, iodbc,
+and others found on CPAN Search: http://search.cpan.org .
 
 =head2 How do I make a system() exit on control-C?