Following in the footsteps of Google, Amazon, and eBay, Yahoo recently introduced a web service API to its search engine. In this month’s column, we look at three Perl scripts that can help you correct typos, view other people’s vacation pictures, and track those long lost pals from school.

Some developers condemn the use of debuggers, but in many cases, a debugger is a programmer’s last hope. In this Month’s Perl Snapshot, we’ll look at Perl’s integrated debugger.

A helpful Perl script gives you an immediate overview of your financial status, adding the balances of multiple accounts and share depots. It even allows users to add their own plugins.

Perl gives you better shell scripts. Sysadm::Install, a new module from CPAN, helps shell addicts let go of Bash.

To get past a firewall and into a LAN,you need either a secret backdoor or a cooperative agent on the inside. A Jabber client on the LAN contacts a public Jabber server and wait for instructions trickling in as instant messages from its Internet buddies.

Armed with just a rescue CD and a Perl script, you can back up a client’s hard disk across the wire.

Testing complex web applications does not necessarily mean investing in expensive, proprietary tools such as Test Director or Silk Performer. Selenium is for free; it can remotely control any major browser, and it is programmable in Perl.

Spammers don’t just send email. They exploit discussion forums and blogs, posting pseudo-messages full of links to dupe search engines. A Perl script cleans up the mess.

Video files are ready for download, but your storage space is limited, and, if you're like most people, you may have a hard time letting go of past favorites. You need a higher authority to decide when it’s time to trim down your collection.

Perl hackers take to the hills with a navigation system that provides a graphical rendering of a hiking tour.