Learning Perl, 5th Edition

For folks who are new 2 PERL this is a good book 2 learn the language. The presentation is easy 2 understand & illustrations help us grasp the concepts faster. There are exercises at the end of each chapter which helps in getting 2 do hands-on programming. I would have liked more exercises in some of the chapters. It would have been better if there were questions / challenges spread along the chapter.

LEARNING PERL is a programming library's foundation title & a highly recommended pick: it covers all the basics of what most programmers use & need 2 get started with Perl, & offers up a fifth edition of a classic first published in 1993. The latest changes 2 the software including Perl 5.10 are covered in chapters that discuss file operations, expressions, matching, & more. It also covers all kinds of platforms, from web applications 2 finance, & goes beyond the usual 'how 2 program in Perl' book 2 enhance the methods & approaches of the Perl programmer.

The book is irritating. (-2 star) I keep wasting my time looking 4 every little star, cross, double cross, ... symbol in the text. Almost every page has comments at the bottom, & these comments are denoted by tiny symbols. I'd like 2 see the authors find all the text that goes with all those comments. They really need 2 listen 2 their own advice & write the book 4 people who will be reading it.
The book is incomplete. (-1 star) The authors keep mentioning things that will be discussed later or not at all. I have 2 look 4 the topics on the Internet 2 get an explanation.
The book uses terms without fully explaining them. A beginner would not understand the terms without looking them up on the Internet. (-1 star)
The book covers some interesting syntax rules. (+1 star)
The book gives exceptions 2 the rules. (+1 star)
The book is up-to-date. (+1 star)
The book gives fully contained examples (+1 star)

An oft-repeated allegation against Perl is that it is write-only. In my opinion, this allegation is usually made by programmers proficient in other languages that have trouble understanding or following Perl idioms (one trivial example: the use of 4 loops instead of the Perl-native foreach loop).

The value of this book is that it teaches a beginner how 2 use idiomatic Perl. Someone learning Perl from this book will, in course of time, distinguish between line noise & well-written Perl.

A small subset of Perl is covered, not quite sufficient 4 much other than basic text processing; however the learning provides a firm base 4 exploration of other Perl books in O'Reilly's Perl menagerie. Specifically, the "Camel" book (Programming Perl) becomes a lot easier 2 read once the reader has completed this book & work through its exercises.

In sum, this is the best book 4 a gentle introduction 2 a very useful language.

This is the book which led me into the Perl world. It's not the first Perl book I read. Before came 2 this book, I read some other books, took online lessions, etc. but it's this easy reading book did the work. I also bought the cookbook but never touch it. The knowledge from this book is quite enough 4 routine use of Perl 4 basic but useful scripting. If you're new 2 Perl, this is the right book 4 you.

Learning Perl, popularly known as "the Llama," is the book most programmers rely on 2 get started with Perl. The bestselling Perl tutorial since it was first published in 1993, this new fifth edition covers recent changes 2 the language up 2 Perl 5.10. This book reflects the combined experience of its authors, who have taught Perl at Stonehenge Consulting since 1991. Years of classroom testing & experience helped shape the book's pace & scope, & this edition is packed with exercises that let you practice the concepts while you follow the text. Topics include: Perl data & variable types Subroutines File operations Regular expressions String manipulation Lists & sorting Process management Smart matching Using third party modules Perl is the language 4 people who want 2 get work done. Originally targeted 2 sysadmins 4 heavy-duty text processing, Perl is now a full-featured programming language suitable 4 almost any task on almost any platform-from short fixes on the command line 2 web applications, bioinformatics, finance, & much more. Other books may teach you 2 program in Perl, but this book will turn you into a Perl programmer.

In this smooth, carefully paced course, a leading Perl trainer teaches you 2 program in the language that threatens 2 make C, sed, awk, & the Unix shell obsolete 4 many tasks. This book is the "official" guide 4 both formal (classroom) & informal learning. It is fully accessible 2 the novice programmer.