More importantly, Perl has become the predominant server-based programming language for handling text-based web pages and is used to accept user inputs (usually from web page forms) and to use those inputs for real time database updates and to return custom web pages to users.

The following three sections provide additional introductory information about Perl.

Perl Basics Simple Perl Script Executing a Perl Script

Background
Available in UNIX and Windows versions, Perl is used by millions of programmers to read, modify, and write text files and text-based databases. Perl was released in 1987 and had matured at the time when Internet web servers were needing a capable, server-based tool to manipulate user inputs from web page forms and to create web pages to return to users.

With its UNIX (the most popular server OS) origins, Perl was at home in operating in a web server environment. Perl excelled at taking inputs from users (typically from web page forms) and to use those inputs for real time database updates and to return custom web pages (dynamic pages) to users.

Because of the great fit between its capabilities and the needs of web servers, Perl became the most used programming language on web servers.

Perl is free, easy to learn, and continues to evolve to meet the needs of web programmers.