It's comparing apples to oranges, I know. But still, this is quite interesting. When you look at the PHP functions list, you see three filled columns. I took the time to count it all (copy, paste in document, count lines) and got to the result of... 5250. That's right, PHP has 5250 documented functions.

Now, let's take a look at the Perl function list. I could have counted this one almost without a text editor, 209 functions.

So, can PHP do a lot more than Perl? Hell no, Perl was smart enough to divide its detailed functions into modules and extensions. PHP has extensions too (a lot of them are included in that 5250, I know), but a lot of them come with the distribution already.

An example: PHP has the built-in function "parse_url()", I'm not kidding. If anyone ever asks me what I believe is the single most useless function in PHP, it's parse_url(). You're not learning anyone to code by spoon-feeding this junk, in Perl you have to write your own functions atleast.

I do agree that writing a complex script is a lot less work in PHP than it is in Perl, but I think they really could miss some of the functions they have now...

Hey, this isn't new! This is the exact same thing as my previous Simple Machines Forum 1.1.4 password hash cracker! Yes, it is. They didn't change the method this time, it's still a very basic SHA1 encryption. The download can be found here. If you're interested in a more extensive explanation, head over to my old post.

All packed up & ready for your enjoyment: PHP Source Auditor 4! So, if you have (most likely) never heard of it, this is the deal:

PSA4 is a Perl script that connects to your local webhost and scans all files (recursively) in the www root, for vulnerabilities. It scans for:

1. Remote File Inclusion
2. Remote Command Execution
3. Remote Code Execution
4. Cross Site Scripting
5. SQL injection (very weak scanning on this though)
6. Local File Inclusion (results sometimes get buggy)

The difference with other scanners is, it actually can tell whether the script is vulnerable or not since it exploits it on the fly by entering weird data into the variables. You can download it right here and (for now) nowhere else :).

I have finally fixed PerlForums, seems like RandomBase in general has been fixed now! Please report any bugs you see so we can fix them.

Downtime sucks, moving sucks. I am still fixing up all the bad coded parts of randombase and subprojects to fit nicely onto the new server, but one script happens to be more annoying to 'port' than the other. Perlforums for example is full of errors, which I really don't understand since the server environment itself hasn't changed that much, we changed only some directory structures to be easier for editing and adding stuff. Also, lots of people experience DNS troubles but that's only a matter of time, luckily.

Glad to be back though!

When browsing through my Perl folder, I came across my first line of code in Perl, written in 2006:

for($start="a";$start ne "zzz";$start++) { print $start."\n"}

I'm wondering now if I just copied that from some tutorial or actually wrote it myself :) .