Perl Express 2.5

Perl is a dynamic programming language with variables, expressions, assignment statements, brace-delimited code blocks, control structures, and subroutines. Perl Express is a free IDE (integrated development environment) for Perl. The program offers you syntax highlighting, line numbering, code templates, and many other features that enable you to easily develop and debug scripts, which are written in the Perl programming language.

I first have to say that even though I know other programming languages, this is the first time I used Perl to write a script. I had no problems getting used to the interface of Perl Express. It reminds me of Borland Delphi and Borland C++ Builder because of its floating windows. First, the main window contains the program's toolbar and the main menu. The toolbar is not impressive. It only contains a few buttons, which enable you to easily load and save scripts, or start and stop the debugging process.

The user interface is also composed of a window, which you can use to search your hard disk for scripts, to access a simple code library, to view debugging watches, or to find help about Perl functions and variables.

The main part of the program is the window where you write your programs. It's entitled Code Editor. This is where you can define input data for your scripts, examine the script's output, and write or edit the scripts.

Pluses: Simple code templates are provided to speed up your work. You can even add your own code templates. For example, if you write "while" and press CTRL+J, a "while block" complete with brackets is automatically created.

Drawbacks / flaws: This software doesn't support code folding. In addition, it doesn't automatically align your code.

In conclusion: Perl Express is a good IDE for Perl considering the fact that it's free. However, if you are used to code completion and other things like that, I suggest you try something else.

version reviewed: 2.5