Perl to Python

Tim Hammerquist tim at vegeta.ath.cx
Mon Nov 26 23:29:38 EST 2001


Paul Malinowski <paul.malinowski at wulfsberg.com> graced us by uttering:
> I am relatively new to programming and very new to Python.
> I have a number of Perl/CGI scripts on a Linux/Apache web
> server that run queries to 
> MS Access databases through an Openlink service running on
> an NT server.  Works great!  I have been trying to do the 
> same thing with Python and am not having much luck.  Would
> it be to much to ask one of you Python guru's to help me
> translate this from Perl to Python?  (I intentionally left
> out the paths in the Perl environment variables to the 
> OpenLink installed client on my Linux system to hide user 
> names and such...)
> 
> Any help would be really appreciated!

I gave some Python tips in another thread, but I feel obligated to point
out a problem in the Perl:

[ snip ]
> if (!open(SQL,"$sql |")) {
>     print "Unable to open connect to database<br>";
>     exit 0;
> }
> 
> if (open(SQL, "$sql |")) {
>     chomp(@rawdata = <SQL>);
> }

Another poster was correct. You're opening a pipe from $sql _twice_.
Why?!  Connecting to a database is an expensive process, and you're not
even protecting yourself against the event you're (apparently) trying to
avoid. Try:

    unless (open SQL, "$sql |") {
        # you might also want to output _why_ it failed
        print "Unable to connect to database<br>";
        exit 0;
    }
    else {
        chomp(@rawdata = <SQL>);
    }

And as any perler would tell you, you should be running with 'use
strict;' unless you have a specific reason not to.  Perl's
autovivification does not inherently have the safeguards that Python
does.

Tim Hammerquist
-- 
We are Pentium of Borg. Division is futile. You will be approximated.
    -- seen in someone's .signature



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