If you are not already familiar with the Perl programming language, you will need to read up on at least the basics. One online course is available from http://sourceforge.net/projects/spork.
The SME Server has a wealth of Perl libraries to perform common functions including manipulating the configuration database, performing common CGI tasks, etc. The modules available include:
esmith::ConfigDB
esmith::AccountsDB
esmith::NetworksDB
esmith::HostsDB
esmith::NetworkServicesDB
esmith::DB
esmith::FormMagick
CGI::FormMagick
Text::Template
The following libraries are also installed for compatibility with older code, but they should no longer be used. These libraries may be removed in future releases.
esmith::util (deprecated)
esmith::db (deprecated)
esmith::cgi (deprecated)
The documentation can be accessed from the Linux command line on your SME Server by typing perldoc esmith::ConfigDB (or whatever module name you're interested in).
More information about building RPMs can be found at http://www.rpm.org/RPM-HOWTO/build.html. This is especially recommended if you wish to use anything more than the extremely simple outline given above. For instance, you may wish to to build RPMs using original source and patches or include more detail and functionality in your spec file.