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Learning Perl [Paperback]

Randal L. Schwartz (Author), Tom Christiansen (Author), Larry Wall (Editor)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 300 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 2nd Edition edition (8 July 1997)
Language English
ISBN-10: 1565922840
ISBN-13: 978-1565922846
Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 17.8 x 2.3 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 182,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Programming > Introduction to Programming > Perl
- #20 in Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Programming > Languages > Perl
- #57 in Books > Computers & Internet > Software & Graphics > Internet Applications > Web-server Software > UNIX & Linux Operating Systems

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Amazon.co.uk Review

When it comes to working a little "behind the scenes" magic for a Web site or putting together a UNIX script which interrogate databases and produce reports based on the information they contain, there are few better languages to do the job than Perl.

Learning Perl draws on the expertise of two of the major supporters of this highly flexible language, Randal Schwatrz and Tom Christiansen, to produce an introductory manual which manages to be concise yet informative throughout.

Weighing in at a mere (for a computer manual) 271 pages it achieves admirably what it sets out to do--teach Perl basics and no more. From the introduction to the different variable types through hash arrays, file access, process management and coding for the World Wide Web, it's a well-paced easy-to-understand book which assumes a rudimentary knowledge of programming but no more.

With its multitude of clear examples which help to hammer home the many points made and set exercises at the end of each chapter, it builds knowledge rather than drowning the reader with information as many other books seem to do.

This is the first in a series of books on the subject from O'Reilly Publishing, the others being Programming Perl, Advanced Perl Programming and the Perl Cookbook and it truly is a great introduction to a language which is enthusiastically supported by developers and Web coders worldwide. Well worth a read.

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Making Easy Things Easy and Hard Things Possible

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Customer Reviews

29 Reviews

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (29 customer reviews)

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another good book from O'Reilly, 7 Nov 2000

Dewi Morgan (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Learning Perl (Paperback)

O'Reilly did it again. This one sits on my bookshelf now, almost never referred to. It was handy when learning perl, but since then I have tended to use the more advanced O'Reilly perl books. I finished with this one in a few days.

After all, once you have learned a language, you do not want a tutorial in it, you want a reference.

However, I cannot fault the quality of the book for doing what it says on the front: it teaches you perl, and makes that progress about as much fun as it could be in the progress. Like Programming Perl, I found I could read this book from cover to cover, almost like a good novel (well, OK, not exactly like, but it's a lot less dry than almost any other computing text I have read).

I would not recommend buying just this book if you want to use perl regularly. Buy "Programming Perl" as well, at a minimum, since that is a more complete reference. But if all you want is an easy but thorough tutorial, you will not find a better one than this. It will get you up and running fast, and with a smile on your face.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a top book for anyone learning the basics of Perl, 25 Feb 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Learning Perl (Paperback)

Having started reading this book as someone who had the impression that Perl was difficult to understand and hard to code, I am now enlightened and will be using Perl extensively on my web sites. The explanations were clear, concise and injected with humour. It has completed altered my view on Perl and I cannot recommened this book highly enough. Regular expressions are covered briefly but do need a book by themselves (as published by O'Reilly) and a reasonable knowledge of programming is useful to follow some examples.

This book is very nearly the dog's bits. :)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-paced learning tool. Recommended, 7 Nov 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Learning Perl (Paperback)

I came to Perl from Windows, C & Delphi and wanted a quick leg up the learning ladder. This book does just that, but with some caveats. I found it hard to get past the leaden and, to me, very un-funny foreword by Larry Wall. That apart, the book does the job as advertised.

The 1st chapter (A Stroll Through Perl) is tough. It throws in a lot of code without explanation (e.g. use of =~ operator on p.11) and is very Unix-oriented. If you know C, you'll hack it, but this is heavy stuff for a non-programmer wishing to learn. Programming Perl (this book's big brother) is much tougher again. You would need to be an intermediate/advanced C & Unix hacker to go straight into Perl from there. However, if you come to use Perl regularly (and most Windows folk coming here will be using Perl for CGI stuff), you would be well advised to buy both.

The remainder of the book consists of well-paced examples, culminating in a (for me) particularly useful primer on CGI. I have just completed my first fully home-grown large CGI script, and would never have got there without this book (and CGI.pm).

So 4 stars for general content and concept, 1 star lost for dud humour and the whole "Stroll Through Perl" thing which I think increases, rather than flattens the learning curve. Don't be fooled by claims of Perl's natural or intuitive feel. It is only natural and intuitive for "Hello World" programmes. Beyond that, it is natural & intuitive only for those who have been practicing it for years. The rest of us use it like more forgiving version of C.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is excellent value for money
I have done a reasonable amount of programming: VB, SQL, ASP and know C syntax from university. This book is extremeley clear and concise, well laid out, which makes it a really... Read more

Published on 28 July 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect PERL Book
As a trainer, teaching UNIX and PERL, this book is a must. With a well written and easy to follow style it is the perfect teaching guide. Read more

Published on 5 April 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to Perl
Before I read this book, I knew nothing about the Perl programming language. By the time I finished it, I was hooked and needed more! The writing style is fluid and humorous. Read more

Published on 12 Dec 2000

2.0 out of 5 stars Too complex for beginners. Go buy Perl for Dummies instead.
My girlfriend gave up on this book, and is now happily going through Perl for Dummies, which is a much better book to learn from. Read more

Published on 17 Nov 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet!
Ok for people who understand IT but if dont, do not buy this book. It assumes a knowledge of unix/linux and a good knowledge of previous languages. Read more

Published on 24 April 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Starter Book
What Can I say .. This is THE book to buy if you're setting off down the great PERL highway

Published on 12 April 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Lionel learns Perl....and enjoys it!
Prepared for some serious headaches I sat down to learn Perl at last. I'd been putting it off for ages, mainly due to the cryptic looking regular expressions so many Perl programs... Read more

Published on 26 Nov 1999 by M. Newman

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to Perl
I read this book in 2 days, downloaded Perl off the Web and began writing programs by day 3. It is a good introduction to Perl which does not require any particular knowledge of... Read more

Published on 10 Nov 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the complete beginner
This book has taken me from the non programmer I was and helped me to understand the basics of PERL. This is a great book, everyone who wants to learn PERL should have a copy.

Published on 28 Oct 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars cool
easy to understand and highly informative.

Published on 5 May 1999

› See all 29 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

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