Perhaps this question would better be addressed to a
Perl list, but since we're on the topic of CGI scripts
and there seems to be some expertise here in the group
...

Does anyone know of any bundles or techniques that
would assist in the production of an automated slide
show of the sort that one finds on those web sites that
allow you to deposit images and comments, and then
visitors can come look at your pictures?

I've created several Web-based slide shows, but they've
all been statically produced, i.e., I have a set of
images and I design some HTML that walks through them,
with previous, next, and top buttons, etc.

What I really want is a means to automate this, i.e.,
supply a file with a list of image file paths and
associated comments, and then stick a link on a Web
site to the top end. I've thought about writing such a
thing myself for some time using Perl+CGI, but it has
also occurred to me that I might be reinventing the
wheel.

I'm mainly interested in the guts of the thing, i.e.,
the part that cycles through the list. I would
certainly want to heavily customize it, because I have
in mind the intent of integrating it into existing Web
pages, which would mean adding and tweaking stylistic
and design considerations.

I do have a particular project in mind. I'm designing a
Web site for someone who wants to have a side page
featuring his garden, updated four times a year
(seasonally). His garden is over 3 acres, with about a
dozen "rooms", paths, gateways, etc., and is one of the
great gardens on the eastern seaboard, so this will be
no trivial snapshot collection. It needs to be done
with beauty, elegance, careful design. But it has
occurred to me that I can make the quaternary updates a
lot simpler by having a system in place that allows me
to feed it a new slide show from a list.

Maybe I should just go ahead and write it myself.