Using Perl

Perl (Practical Extraction and Reporting Language) offers a platform-independent solution for HCL Compass scripting. Hook scripts you write in Perl support the HCL Compass clients on Windows™, the UNIX™ system, and on Linux™.

HCL Compass API support for VBScript is different than that for Perl. When you use Perl, be aware that:

  • The prefix and syntax are different. For more information, see "Notation conventions for Perl".
  • You must use the prefix for Entity methods and properties inside hook scripts, unlike VBScript, where the Entity object is implicit.
  • Perl uses an array for hook choices instead of a HookChoices object.
  • The EventObject is supported differently. For more information, see the EventObject Object.
  • CQPerl evaluates an empty string as a NULL value. To test for an empty string, use the CQ_COMP_OP_IS_NULL operator.