|
|
|
Perl @ Web Programming
Programming Shed : Programmer Store & Resources |
|
|
|
|
|
Perl Index - Perl Book :
Beginning Perl
by Simon Cozens Perfect Paperback: 700 pages Dimensions (in inches): 1.45 x 9.21 x 7.31 Publisher: Wrox Press Inc ISBN: 1861003145; 1st edition (May 25, 2000) Perl is an immensely popular scripting language that combines the best features of C, key UNIX utilities and a powerful use of regular expressions. It has a wide range of uses beyond simple text processing and is commonly used for web programming - creating and parsing CGI forms, validating HTML syntax and hyperlinks - as well as e-mail and Usenet news filtering. Perl is increasingly the system administrator's scripting language of choice and is used for file and directory manipulation, database access and a whole range of daily system operator chores. Book Info: Text takes the reader from installation, through the core language elements (regular expressions, references, modules, and the like), and on to basic applied techniques. Also covers how to access and work with databases in Perl and write CGI scripts to generate Web pages. Perl 5.6 is used in all the examples, and a handy reference section is included. From the Publisher: The book promotes the use of Perl as a programming language, encouraging the creation of legible and sensible programs so as to dispel the image of Perl as a confusing and obscure language. In other words: Don't worry, whatever your current experience level in the world of Perl, this book has something for you. It covers both basic and advanced aspects of Perl, Apache modPerl and Perlscript for use with Wintel systems and stresses the cross-platform nature of Perl, with extensive examples and techniques. About the Author: Simon Cozens is a freelance programmer who has extensive commercial experience developing in Perl for Oracle, amongst other clients. Customer Reviews Reviewer: Wayne Steinhardt from Brooklyn, NY USA If you are a beginner to Perl (but have some knowledge of the concepts of programming) then this is the book for you. It explains in a clear and straightforward manner the basics of Perl. The authors go out of their way to make sure that examples are given of all the concepts that they cover. The only thing that prevents this book from getting 5 stars are the number of typos in the book. If you can look beyond those, however, then this book is extrememly useful. Bottom line: If you have some knowledge of programming and want to learn what Perl can do for you, then this is the book for you. If you have some Perl experience, however, you may want to go on to a more advanced book (such as O'Reilly's camel book). Reviewer: Alex Chamberlain from Portland, OR USA I must strongly disagree with the reviewer who said that the tone of this book is inconsistent and the audience unclear. Quite the opposite---unlike many beginning Perl books (see my review of Schwartz' _Learning Perl_), this one is written simply and consistently with one person in mind---the computer user who is new to programming and wants to pick up a practical, modern language that he/she can accomplish useful things with. The book goes into surprising but welcome depth about the features that distinguish Perl and make it more interesting (and, I think, more fun) than other languages for the beginning programmer. Also, fundamental principles of computer science (iteration, data structures, sorting, etc.) and software engineering (the design process, debugging, code style, etc.) are introduced along the way in an informal, non-threatening manner. I think the author does such a good job of mixing theory and application that this book could even be used as an introductory text in the first or second term of a computer science degree program. Oh, and to the reviewers who said the author's English is poor: The author is British, not American. People *do* speak English outside North America, believe it or not! Reviewer: dave280272 from Mapleton, UT United States I've been wanting to learn Perl for awhile and debated about getting this book or the O'Reilly Book, Learning Perl. I actually have tried a couple times to learn Perl from other books (one of which was from the QuickStart series), but found them inadequate for teaching me what was going on - they basically showed what looked to me like complicated code and then explained what was going on in that particular example. Both books (this book and the O'Reilly book) had a number of negative reviews, but as the O'Reilly book was described as overrated and not as great as it sounded, and as I've had that experience before with a couple O'Reilly books, I decided to go with this one. I am very glad I did. The author covers material thoroughly and in a very understandable format. I guess I can't understand what all the negative reviews were about. 1) There are some typos, but none that affect the code or my understanding of the material and 2) the guy is British so sometimes you run across a phrase that you wouldn't in an American English book, but so what? As for my background, I've never had a programming class, I have a basic knowledge of UNIX, and I've dabbled in C and some scripting languages enough to know a little about the sorts of things you do in a program. But I consider my knowledge in all these things very basic. Anyway, the book has been extremely helpful and I would definitely recommend this book over any of the others I've run across. Reviewer: paulcim2 from San Diego, CA USA Where I coming from: I learned programming? almost 15 years ago with the BASIC Programming Language. About a year ago I learned HTML then CGI using PERL of course. I bought this book as step towards learning PERL better. I read about 80% of the book in detail. My feelings about Learning Programming: Programming even in PERL is a huge undertaking. Books make it seem simple to learn PERL or other languages esp the learn JAVA in 24 hrs etc. After studying PERL for a year I re-read sections in the book and now realize how simplistic it is compared to more advanced coding like using modules and OOP etc. You won't go wrong with this book it is much more suited to a newbie than O'Reily, Programming Perl that people buy thinking they can learn perl from it. Summary: All in all the author does a decent job of teaching the beginner. My only complain is that in some spots the author makes a huge leap without explaining how to get there step by step. This can cause you to waste a lot of time trying to figure some stuff out on your own. To learn from this or any other book you will have to spend a LOT of time coding!!! good luck. |
|
|
|
© 2005-2006, Programming Shed
|
