I realize how basic of a question this is but im just curious. On certain perfboards, there are surface pads on 2 of the sides instead of holes. Are they used ideally for ground and power bussing, or what are they there for primarily?
I assume they are for surface mount components. Unless the perfboard has some specialized purpose (probably not, or it would be a regular PC board) it's made for any variety of circuits/applications and it's up to the user to decide how to use it. ...Sort of like buying a piece of pegboard from the hardware store.
Post a photo of each side and we can tell you more.