QPDF is a program that can be used to linearize (web-optimize),
encrypt (password-protect), decrypt, and inspect PDF files from the
command-line. It does these and other structural, content-preserving
transformations on PDF files, reading a PDF file as input and
creating a new one as output. It also provides many useful
capabilities to developers of PDF-producing software or for people
who just want to look at the innards of a PDF file to learn more
about how they work.
QPDF understands PDF files that use compressed object streams
(supported by newer PDF applications) and can convert such files into
those that can be read with older viewers. It can also be used for
checking PDF files for structural errors, inspecting stream contents,
or extracting objects from PDF files. QPDF is not PDF content
creation or viewing software -- it does not have the capability to
create PDF files from scratch or to display PDF files.
The mcron program represents a complete re-think of the cron concept originally
found in the Berkeley and AT&T unices, and subsequently rationalized by Paul
Vixie. The original idea was to have a daemon that wakes up every minute, scans
a set of files under a special directory, and determines from those files if
any shell commands should be executed in this minute.
The new idea is to read the required command instructions, work out which
command needs to be executed next, and then sleep until the inferred time has
arrived. On waking the commands are run, and the time of the next command is
computed. Furthermore, the specifications are written in scheme, allowing at
the same time simple command execution instructions and very much more flexible
ones to be composed than the original Vixie format. This has several useful
advantages over the original idea.
'tbku' is a utility script for producing "tarball" backups of some- or
all of your files. It is useful both for producing incremental backups
or for systemwide images or "snapshots". The script can be run either
from the command line or, more typically, as a cron job to automate
system backup tasks.
The central benefit of using 'tbku' over hand written tar commands is
that 'tbku' is "table driven". You specify the set of files to back up
in a table (a separate file). You can have as many of these "filesets"
as you wish, corresponding to different kinds of backups you want
done. 'tbku' will do backups automatically or manually, based on the
name of the "fileset". This considerably simplifies automating
backups, keeping backup logs, and generally maintaining an orderly
backup environment.
'tbku' can also be used to capture system images which can then
later be used to (re)provision other machines.
Apache JMeter is a 100% pure Java desktop application designed to
load test functional behavior and measure performance. It was
originally designed for testing Web Applications but has since
expanded to other test functions.
Apache JMeter may be used to test performance both on static and
dynamic resources (files, Servlets, Perl scripts, Java Objects,
Data Bases and Queries, FTP Servers and more). It can be used to
simulate a heavy load on a server, network or object to test its
strength or to analyze overall performance under different load
types. You can use it to make a graphical analysis of performance
or to test your server/script/object behavior under heavy
concurrent load.
In addition to load-testing, the tool can also be used to verify
correctness of your web-applications.
Many audio synthesis and recording packages are in use or in
development. These work in many different ways. LADSPA
provides a standard way for `plugin' audio processors to be used with
a wide range of these packages.
For instance, this allows a developer to make a reverb program and
bundle it into a LADSPA `plugin library.' Ordinary users can then use
this reverb within any LADSPA-friendly audio application.
DBIx::Connector provides a simple interface for fast and safe DBI
connection and transaction management. Connecting to a database can
be expensive; you don't want your application to re-connect every time
you need to run a query. The efficient thing to do is to hang on to a
database handle to maintain a connection to the database in order to
minimize that overhead. DBIx::Connector lets you do that without
having to worry about dropped or corrupted connections.
Module::Build is a system for building, testing, and installing Perl modules.
It is meant to be a replacement for ExtUtils::MakeMaker. Developers may alter
the behavior of the module through subclassing in a much more straightforward
way than with MakeMaker. It also does not require a make on your system - most
of the Module::Build code is pure-perl and written in a very cross-platform
way.
This module define a subroutine that let you evaluate Perl code in a specific
context. The code can be passed directly as a string or as a file name to read
from. It also provides some subroutines to let you define and optionally share
variables and subroutines between your code and the code you wish to evaluate.
Finally there is some support for running your code in a safe compartment.
libxo - A Library for Generating Text, XML, JSON, and HTML Output
The libxo library allows an application to generate text, XML, JSON,
and HTML output using a common set of function calls. The application
decides at run time which output style should be produced. The
application calls a function "xo_emit" to product output that is
described in a format string. A "field descriptor" tells libxo what
the field is and what it means.
Class related functionality in Perl is broken up into a variety of
different modules. Class::Handle attempts to provide a convenient
object wrapper around the various different types of functions that can
be performed on a class.
Currently, Class::Handle provides what is effectively a combined API from
UNIVERSAL, Class::ISA and Class::Inspector for obtaining information
about a Class, and some additional task methods, such as load to common
tasks relating to classes.