Learn how to write your first website using Perl and Dancer in under a minute! This is a lightning talk given at a Tel Aviv Perl Mongers (TA.pm) group meeting.

1. Let's create a website!

2. Let's find an interesting module
● Go to CPAN
● Search for something funny in Text::
● We found Text::UpsideDown
● It turns text upside down!
● OMGZ0x0ztrzzzz11!

3. Text::UpsideDown
use Text::UpsideDown;
my $text = “Hello world!”;
my $updown = upside_down($text);
● Okay, that's pretty simple

4. Installing Dancer

5. Installing Dancer

6. Creating the skeleton
● Dancer installs an app called “dancer”
● Run it to create a directory structure
● Pretty default design for free!

8. Adding code
● Edit main path in lib/UpsideDown.pm
# default path
get '/' => sub {
# code to run when someone goes
# to the main page
};

9. Adding code
● Suppose we get user text with a parameter
● Use Dancer's “params” to reach it
● If it's called “text”, all we have to do is...
my $text = params­>{'text'};
● Then to turn it upside down...
my $updown = upside_down($text);

10. What do we have so far?
● Someone reaches main page
● We get text and turn it upside down
use Text::UpsideDown;
get '/' => sub {
my $text = params­>{'text'};
my $updown = upside_down($text);
...
};

11. Rendering it
● Render template “view/index.tt”
● Send it the original text and the upside down
template index => {
text => $text,
upsidedown => $updown,
};

12. Putting it all together
use Text::UpsideDown;
get '/' => sub {
my $text = params­>{'text'};
my $updown = upside_down($text);
template index => {
text => $text,
upsidedown => $updown,
};
};

13. Now the template
● Edit index.tt file
● Add a form to send text
● Add a text input to write the text
● Display the upside down text
● Provide a button to submit more text
● …
● Profit!

14. Creating a form
<form method=”post”>
<!-- stuff goes here -->
</form>

15. Adding a text input box
<form method=”post”>
<input type=”text” name=”text”
value=”<% text | html %>” />
</form>

16. Adding upside down text
<form method=”post”>
<input type=”text” name=”text”
value=”<% text | html %>” />
<code><% upsidedown | html %></code>
</form>

17. Add button to submit form
<form method=”post”>
<input type=”text” name=”text”
value=”<% text | html %>” />
<code><% upsidedown | html %></code>
<input type=”submit” value=”Upside Down!” />
</form>

18. Hit it!

19. upsidedown.casa.darkpan.com

20. Dancer available @ http://perldancer.org
Credit:
Marco Fontani
(http://darkpan.com)