One of the many incredibly useful modules over at the Perl module database CPAN, is the WWW::Google::PageRank module. It gives a quick and easy way of checking PageRank for a number of pages without delving into the particulars of the header exchanges over at toolbarqueries.google.com.

In order to use the script below, first create a file named ‘pages.txt’, and enter the full URLs of the pages you want to check, separated by newline characters, and save it in the same directory as the script:

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The Google Checkout API is a very powerful tool for integrating an ordering system into an e-commerce website. The advantages it offers sellers are:

• Great integration with AdWords - plus get a big Google Checkout icon next to your ad!
• Fast, secure online checkout with no setup fees.
• Free processing of transactions until 2008.
• Free protection from fraud.
• It’s not PayPal*.

* You may/may not think this is an advantage…

However, Google’s documentation doesn’t necessarily make it easy for someone with limited knowledge of PHP/ASP/Perl, etc to integrate the checkout using their “Level 2 integration” via their XML API, which allows you to integrate GCO with your own order processing system.

Part 1 will show you how to get a basic testing setup of Google Checkout running on your website using Perl.
Part 2 will show how to set up the Callback URL so that you receive notifications every time a new order is placed on your site.
Part 3 will explore in depth how to integrate these steps with your MySQL database.
Part 4 will pull it all together and show how to integrate this into a fully functioning website and create a basic back-end administration and order processing system.

This tutorial assumes that you have at least a basic knowledge of Perl, MySQL, and a server that is running Perl 5.8.8.

* Before continuing with this tutorial, I recommend that you print off and at least scan through the Google Checkout XML API documentation. It’s not the most user-friendly thing to read, but it is an essential reference point. For Perl development, you should also read the POD for the GCO modules. (more…)