Perl 5 (Annotated Archives) [Paperback]

Perl is not an easy language to learn and the lack of commented code samples is what discourages a lot of people from learning it. Martin C. Brown does an excellent job of teaching not only how to write useful applications but also how to keep your code simple, clean and easy to maintain which is no mean feat considering how easy it is to write cryptic code in Perl. So, the first star is for what's between the covers.

I'm sure that many people who tried to learn a programming language from a book will agree that it is not enough to just dump the best ideas and code onto paper--they must be presented in a way that helps the reader to quickly find any little bit of information he/she needs. I found nothing to complain about in that department and I agree with my students who often praise this book for its ease of use and the ease of access to the information contained inside it. The second star is therefore for the presentation of the material.

How about the accuracy of the text and the source code? Well, it is *very* high and does not contain any serious errors. This has been confirmed by my students who have been using this book for the last six months and found very little errors or omissions. Those that were spotted are not fatal and can be quite easily fixed by the readers themselves. That's why the third star is for the accuracy of the material.

The fourth star is for the CD-ROM disc sold with the book. Although the CD-ROM disc is an almost essential companion to a computer book, it rarely is utilized in a way that justifies it's additional cost. However, what I found on the disc sold with Perl AA made me very happy. I love it when I can copy, paste and customize *full* source code and not only short examples. You can use it as a source of ready-made solutions and a great learning/teaching tool.

The last, fifth star is for Martin C. Brown's reader support. His Web site is a treasure chest for those who are looking for free code (Martin makes tons of code available for free), updates or error corrections (not that Martin makes a lot of mistakes he needs to correct). Rarely you will find an author who offers such support and that's something you should consider if you expect more from an author.

In short, Perl AA is an excellent book for those who learn, teach and use Perl in real world. This book is a safe investment with a very *high* return.

If you build Web solutions and only have time to absorb one chapter, read and understand the CGI security chapter. My personal favorite has to be either the entries on databases or the cross platform systems administration section. Too many Perl books concentrate on Unix and don't acknowledge other OSes. I think 'macfbf.pl' might be the first code example for the Macintosh I've seen in a Perl book!

There's a lot for Perl newbies and old dogs to learn from this book and it's well worth the effort to glean something from every chapter.

Martin is one of the most interactive authors I've ever dealt with and always responds to emailed suggestions, questions and constructive criticism with a professional yet friendly tone. He's been quick to point out the very rare typographic mistakes and updates his Web site's errata section quickly. That alone makes his books worth having!