Overview
Perlshop 3 was released in 1996. Development and support of Perlshop
ceased shortly after that, leaving individual Perlshop owners without an
upgrade path for their software.
In the years since, Waverider Systems has been working on constant
improvements and additions to Perlshop.
This effort has resulted in the Perlshop Software Suite, a combination of:
Over 3000 copies of Perlshop 4 have been downloaded since July 2000.
Perlshop 4 Works with Modern E-commerce Solutions
Perlshop Supports External Plugins
Perlshop plugins are external program modules that extend the capabilities
of the basic Perlshop 4 software. Static product page files can be mixed
with or replaced by plugin generated product pages that Perlshop 4 then
displays to your customers.
Plugins can be used for a variety of purposes:
- Collating customer and order information as each new order is closed,
either collecting the data in exportable CSV files, or inserting the
information directly into customer and order tracking tables in a server
database.
- Closing the information loop between customer shopping carts and
your inventory control system.
- Generating secure gift certificates for your store, allowing last minute
holiday shoppers to buy their presents on time. The gift certificates are sent
to their recipients by email, and are redeemed automatically by Perlshop when
the recipient visits your store.
- Adding Guest Books and other dynamic content to your store
through the use of custom plugins.
The plugin API (applications programming interface) is well documented,
making it easy for custom plugins to be developed for any situation.
Perlshop Office™ Software
Perlshop Office™ is a suite of applications that allow you, the
business owner, direct access to your invoice and customer data files.
Perlshop Office™ has the following features:
- Access your entire invoice base using SSL, for safe and secure access
to credit card and other private information.
- Add individualized annotations to any invoice.
- Search your customer database by invoice number, keyword, name, or
date range.
- Send customer group email.
- Print shipping and mailing labels.
- Delete unwanted invoices.
- Track incomplete invoices.
- Graphical display of product and customer sales.
- Perlshop Office™ runs in a web browser -- you don't have to install any new software on your PC.
How has Perlshop 4 been Improved over Perlshop 3?
- Major Improvements:
- The customer invoice now has separate billing and shipping addresses.
- Perlshop 4 supports the use of cascading style sheets (CSS), giving the store
owner full control over the appearance of all Perlshop generated pages.
- Perlshop 4 works with frames.
- Upgrades to the web server software include:
- The web server software has been organized, optimized, and documented.
- Internal error checking code contains significantly improved diagnostic information.
- Configuration information and Perlshop source code have been separated into separate files,
allowing for software upgrades without the hassle of reconfiguring the CGI software.
- Upgrades to the ordering system include:
- Perlshop 4 has JavaScript driven order form validation, as well as support for automatic order form
completion for IE 5 users.
- Shipping rate modifiers can be applied to individual stock items.
- Shipping rates can be based upon equations.
- Shipping rates table display has been greatly improved.
- Customer invoice format has been improved for clarity.
- Postal code validation now includes US territories,
US military postal codes, and all of Canada.
- Perlshop search engine capabilities have been significantly extended:
- Use of the Perlshop search engine is optional
(useful when adding Perlshop to a site with a search engine already in place)
- Search engine can be configured to ignore specific words or phrases
- Search engine can be configured to skip specific files
- Your web site designer can control the appearance of the site search results page.
- Other changes and additions include:
- Perlshop generated page headers and footers can now be suppressed on a
page by page basis, or for an entire site.
- Items for purchase can be selected by either text field, check box,
or radio button.
- Numerous cosmetic improvements have been made to Perlshop generated pages,
including the use of well defined style sheet rules.
- In keeping with the spirit of the original Perlshop project,
Perlshop 4 is free.
