syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF

theredqueentheory has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by DigitalKitty (Parson) on Mar 04, 2008 at 18:43 UTC
Hi redqueentheory. Welcome to PM. Perhaps a minor point but I'd rewrite your code as: use warnings; use strict; my $value = 0; my $from = ''; my $to = ''; my $prefix = ''; my %prefixes = (); %prefixes = ( mega => 6, kilo => 3, milli => -3, micro => -6, nano => -9, pico => -12, femto => -15, atto => -18, zepto => -21, yocto => -24, ); print "Enter the unit that you are starting with: "; chomp( $from = <STDIN> ); print "Enter your target unit: "; chomp( $to = <STDIN> ); print "Enter the numerical amount: "; chomp( $value = <STDIN> ); if ( not exists $prefixes{$from} ) { die qq/I don't know about the prefix $from\n/; } if ( not exists $prefixes{$to} ) { die qq/I don't know about the prefix $to\n/; } $prefix = $prefixes{$from} - $prefixes{$to}; print "$value $from is ", $value * (10**$prefix), " $to. \n"; #Output: C:\perl pm_test.pl Enter the unit that you are starting with: mega Enter your target unit: kilo Enter the numerical amount: 10 10 mega is 10000 kilo. [download] Hope this helps, ~Katie	[reply] [d/l]
Re: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by apl (Monsignor) on Mar 04, 2008 at 18:28 UTC
You need to fix `$prefix = $allprefixes{$to} -- $allprefixes{$from};` A double negative sign is not valid in this statement. I think you want a single minus sign for the exponent arithmetic. The final print needs some work as what it displays is misleading. (You also need something like `#!/usr/local/bin/perl` as your first line.)	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by theredqueentheory (Initiate) on Mar 04, 2008 at 18:37 UTC
Cool. I have downloaded the TextMate text editor and now it runs, must have been an AdobeGoLive problem. I have searched for the OS units program, but don't seem to have it installed. Could you kindly provide a link? I have searched online but have not found a place to download it.	[reply]
Re^3: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by Fletch (Bishop) on Mar 04, 2008 at 18:47 UTC
Eeww. Consider getting a real code editor (or learn a NIX standard such as vim or emacs). XCode's builtin editor also would be a step up (presuming you have the OS X development tools installed). And as a comment to your original program, you might consider using the OS' `units` program which already has a fairly good knowledge of conversions rather than reinventing the wheel piecemeal yourself. `$ units kilograms grams 1000 / 0.001 $ units feet kilometers * 0.0003048 / 3280.8399` [download] (Those two lines are what you multiply the later by to get the former and what you divide the former by to get the later) Update: Duuur. Strike that, reverse it; as is noted below. Been so long since I've used it I forgot how it works. (At least I remembered it was there . . . :) The cake is a lie. The cake is a lie. The cake is a lie.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^4: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by Tanktalus (Canon) on Mar 04, 2008 at 20:31 UTC
Re^3: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by apl (Monsignor) on Mar 04, 2008 at 18:43 UTC
I can run your script once I've added `#!/usr/local/bin/perl` as the first line (because I'm using Solaris). What exactly is the error you're getting?	[reply] [d/l]
Re: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by Old_Gray_Bear (Bishop) on Mar 04, 2008 at 18:42 UTC
I got `perl -c "labmonkey.pl" Scalar found where operator expected at labmonkey.pl line 34, near "-- $allprefixes" (Missing operator before $allprefixes?) syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 34, near "-- $allprefixes" labmonkey.pl had compilation errors.` [download] When I ran your code. I noticed that you didn't start the code with a 'shebang' line. May I suggest adding these lines to the top of your code: `#! /usr/local/bin/perl use strict; use warnings;` [download] The shebang lets your OS get a clue about what language to expect; strict and warnings will give you a heads up about common mistakes and errors. ('variable used once, possible typo?' is one of my favorites -- I am a three fingered typist, all three fingers are on my left hand. I see that one a lot.) Welcome to the Monastery, have fun with the Toys, don't forget to enjoy yourself. ---- I Go Back to Sleep, Now. OGB	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by ikegami (Patriarch) on Mar 04, 2008 at 18:47 UTC
That error doesn't sound like something Perl would give. Is that the error message exactly? Are you sure `perl` is being used? And line 1 isn't near EOF. Are the line endings correct? Again, Perl shouldn't care about that.	[reply] [d/l]
Re: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by graff (Chancellor) on Mar 05, 2008 at 03:32 UTC
I hope the previous replies have brought you to a point where you have a functioning and satisfying script. Now, I'd like to introduce you to my best friend... @ARGV, meet theredqueentheory. Red, meet @ARGV: #!/usr/bin/perl # (of course, "/usr/local/bin/perl" should work as well) use strict; if ( @ARGV != 3 ) { die "Usage: $0 starting_unit target_unit numeric_amount\n"; } my ( $from, $to, $value ) = @ARGV; #use these as exponents; below we just subtract exponents to get the a +nswer my %prefixes = ( "mega" => 6, "kilo" => 3, "milli" => -3, "micro" => -6, "nano" => -9, "pico" => -12, "femto" => -15, "atto" => -18, "zepto" => -21, "yocto" => -24, ); for ( $from, $to ) { next if ( exists( $prefixes{$_} )); my $msg = "$_ is not a known unit. Try one of these:\n"; for my $prf (sort { $prefixes{$b}<=>$prefixes{$a} } keys %prefixes + ) { $msg .= "\t$prf\n"; } die $msg; } my $exp = $prefixes{$from} - $prefixes{$to}; print "$value $from is ", $value * 10 ** $exp, " $to.\n"; [download] I think that produces the sort of result you were looking for (I adopted the mathematical corrections provided by DigitalKitty). The virtues and bonuses of using @ARGV to get user input from args on the command line are numerous, and you will appreciate them more and more as time goes by. Simple example: does your shell support "command history", where you are able to use the "up-arrow" key to get back to a previous command, edit it and run again? (All decent shells have this.) Consider wanting to run your script 5 times with different user inputs... what is easier: answering the same three questions repeatedly 5 times? or recalling a previous command, changing one or more args on the command line, and running it again? Try it both ways, and see which one you like better.	[reply] [d/l]
Re: syntax error at labmonkey.pl line 1, at EOF by Zen (Deacon) on Mar 04, 2008 at 23:31 UTC
Learning perl is well worth the time investment. Nothing beats it for easy reporting and analytics, IMHO.	[reply]


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