Perl is a popular scripting language that's regarded as one of the most useful languages in the online world. It's feature-rich and it is used to create multiple web-based apps and CGI scripts. What differentiates Perl from most of the other languages out there is the support for modules - groups of commands for a certain job that can be included in a script by simply calling them i.e. you are able to write just one line in your script to get a whole module executed, rather than having the entire code that is already a part of the module anyway. As Perl is compatible with a lot of other programming languages and it provides a lot of options based on what a particular application can do, it's used by numerous famous companies - the BBC, Craigslist, The Internet Movie Database (IMDB), cPanel, etc.
Perl Scripting in Web Hosting
Perl is available with all Linux web hosting that we supply and you are able to execute any kind of .pl file which you upload in your account when you use the File Manager of the Control Panel or some FTP software. This will enable you to make a website with all of the features that you'd like your visitors to have, but PHP does not provide. You're able to execute a script either manually or automatically through a cron job. Our packages feature lots of Perl modules which you can use and you can see a full list in your web hosting account as well as the path which you have to use in your scripts, in order to be able to access these modules. If you would like to execute a Perl/CGI script through a cron job but your package doesn't offer this feature, you can add as many cron jobs as you need via the Add Upgrades/Services link on the left-hand side of your web hosting Control Panel.
Perl Scripting in Semi-dedicated Servers
In case you would like to include CGI scripts on your sites or some other Perl-based app for that matter, you won't experience any sort of problems in the event that you use a semi-dedicated server account from our company. Thousands of Perl modules are installed on our machines and you'll be able to call each of them by adding the path that you can find in your Control Panel into the script that you've selected. If you download some app from a third-party site, for example, you can be sure that you'll be able to use it regardless of the modules it requires to function. Given that your .pl files have the appropriate UNIX permissions to ensure they are executable, you are able to decide whether a specific script will be run manually by a visitor doing something on your website, or automatically by setting up a cron job in your account. When you use the latter option, your script can be executed every day, hour or minute according to your preference.