Perl Module Crypt::GeneratePassword

How to generate a password in Perl with the Crypt::GeneratePassword Perl module.

We've already seen a simplistic but somewhat insecure way to generate random passwords in Perl. Luckily there are several Perl modules that can do the same job even better. Let's look at Crypt::GeneratePassword, one such Perl module written by Jörg Walter.

First, like all non-standard Perl modules, you will need to install Crypt::GeneratePassword from CPAN, and then you can include it at the top of your Perl programs with the use statement:

use Crypt::GeneratePassword qw(word);

You can then use the word function in your program:

$password = word(MINIMUM-LENGTH, MAXIMUM-LENGTH);

Here is a sample program that will print a 12 character random readable password:

#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use Crypt::GeneratePassword qw(word);
$word = word(12, 12);
print "$word\n";
exit;

As an alternative, you can also create passwords that are much less readable, but contain more complex characters:

#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use Crypt::GeneratePassword qw(chars);
$word = chars(12, 12);
print "$word\n";
exit;