Problems with Perls

[RobinVossen]

What am I doing wrong in the following perl script :S

#!/bin/perl
$WORDS = "Firefox in Que";
open (FILE_READ, "~/.src/.starting");
 @raw_data=<FILE_READ>;
close(FILE_READ);

$lines = 0;
foreach(@raw_data)
{
 $lines++;
 if ($raw_data -eq $WORDS);
 {
   open(FILE_WRITE, ">~/.src/.starting");
     foreach(@raw_data)
     {
       if($currentline -ne $lines)
       {
        print FILE_WRITE $raw_data;
       }
     }
   close FILE_WRITE;
 }
 else
 {
  open(FILE_WRITE, ">>~/.src/.starting");
    print FILE_WRITE $WORDS;
  close FILE_WRITE;
 } 
}

The red lines are the Errors.
I have been breaking my head for quite a while on this one.

[wje_lf]

On line 11, change the -eq to eq and remove the semicolon.

On line 16, change the -ne to ne.

While we're at it, might you want to change line 2 to this?

$WORDS = "Firefox in Que\n"

If not, you're going to have to change your code in three other places.

And if you really want to polish your code, you'll want to say "Queue". (grin)

Hope this helps.

[RobinVossen]

Ah thanks.
Can you explain me when I need to use a Dash infont of eq and when not?
And what is a Queue? :S

Thanks alot (Y)

[wje_lf]

Use a dash in front of eq when you're writing a bash script and you're comparing numerical quantities.

Use the eq without a dash when you're writing a Perl script and you're comparing strings.

A queue is a data structure. It's rather like a stack. But with a stack, the most recent item into it is the first item removed from it. With a queue (in its simplest form), the least recent item into it is the first item removed from it.

In the United States, when several people are gathered together to be served one at a time at a sales counter in the same order that they joined the gathering, that gathering is known as a line. In most other parts of the English-speaking world, that gathering is known as a queue. It works roughly the same as the data structure.

The English word "queue" comes from the Middle French (in which it had the same meaning, but presumably without the data processing application). It came to them from the Latin word "cauda", which means tail.

You can get more information about the data structure here.

The theory of how queues behave in real life has been addressed here.

[RobinVossen]

Ok thanks alot.

I am just stupid by putting the dash there then

Thanks for all the help ^^

[wje_lf]

I am just stupid by putting the dash there then

Not particularly stupid; it's a common error to confuse idioms when programming in two or more languages.

Another common one is for C programmers, remembering this construct in bash

if [ $ABC = abc]

to say this in C:

if(a=b)

That doesn't compare a and b; it assigns a the value that's in b (and returns TRUE if the value is nonzero)!

[RobinVossen]

Yea I always have the C problem since I a,m a C++ coder normaly

[wje_lf]

You're aware, I hope, that you can use the -Wall option in your compilation command line to find these problems?

[RobinVossen]

No I dont ^^
I learned perl to myself without any documents.
Just googling for the things i need everytime..
Thanks

[wje_lf]

Um, the -Wall option is for C and C++, not Perl. I seldom compile C or C++ without it.

Just so you know. (grin)