The LWP Modules

The LWP modules provide the core of functionality for web programming in Perl. It contains the foundations for networking applications, protocol implementations, media type definitions, and debugging ability.

The modules LWP::Simple and LWP::UserAgent define client applications that implement network connections, send requests, and receive response data from servers. LWP::RobotUA is another client application that is used to build automated web searchers following a specified set of guidelines.

LWP::UserAgent is the primary module used in applications built with LWP. With it, you can build your own robust web client. It is also the base class for the Simple and RobotUA modules. These two modules provide a specialized set of functions for creating clients.

Additional LWP modules provide the building blocks required for web communications, but you often don’t need to use them directly in your applications. LWP::Protocol implements the actual socket connections with the appropriate protocol. The most common protocol is HTTP, but mail protocols (like SMTP), FTP for file transfers, and others can be used across networks.

LWP::MediaTypes implements the MIME definitions for media type identification and mapping to file extensions. The LWP::Debug module provides functions to help you debug your LWP applications.

The following sections describe the RobotUA, Simple, and UserAgent modules of LWP.

LWP::RobotUA sections

The Robot User Agent (LWP::RobotUA) is a subclass of LWP::UserAgent, ...

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