Programming Perl, 2nd Edition is the authoritative guide to Perl version 5, the scripting utility that has established itself as the programming tool of choice for the World Wide Web, UNIX system administration, and a vast range of other applications. Version 5 of Perl includes object-oriented programming facilities. The book is coauthored by Larry Wall, the creator of Perl. Perl is a language for easily manipulating text, files, and processes. It provides a more concise and readable way to do many jobs that were formerly accomplished (with difficulty) by programming with C or one of the shells. Perl is likely to be available wherever you choose to work. And if it isn't, you can get it and install it easily and free of charge. This heavily revised second edition of Programming Perl contains a full explanation of the features in Perl version 5.003. Contents include:

• An introduction to Perl
• Explanations of the language and its syntax
• Perl functions
• Perl library modules
• The use of references in Perl
• How to use Perl's object-oriented features
• Invocation options for Perl itself, and also for the utilities that come with Perl
• Other oddments: debugging, common mistakes, efficiency, programming style, distribution and installation of Perl, Perl poetry, and so on.

Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  January 24 2000
Submitted by Tim Hammerquist   [Respond | View]



A very poor choice for beginning programmers, and even experienced programmers who are new to Perl may be disappointed. But once I got a basic grasp of what makes Perl different from and superior to all other languages, I wore this book thin in one month.

Not for beginners, but definitely for life!



Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  December 16 1999
Submitted by John D. Sanders   [Respond | View]



I thought the book made some simple concepts very difficult to understand. It was unclear in many places.

All together I found the book great as a technical resource, but absolutely not for beginners!


Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  December 05 1999
Submitted by Flounder   [Respond | View]



This is a great book! I have had it for a few months and love it. I use it as a reference all the time, but if you are learning Perl as your first language read Learning Perl first otherwise you should beable to learn Perl from this book just fine.I good book to go along with this is the Perl Cookbook it is also great.

I give it 10 out of 10 stars.


Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  November 04 1999
Submitted by Li-fan Chen   [Respond | View]



This book is a pearl. So is the community.


Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  August 09 1999
Submitted by Bernard Murray   [Respond | View]



I think some other reviewers have been a little harsh in their treatment of the book. The important thing to note is that this is a reference and not a tutor. I initially found the text somewhat impenetrable until I first read "Learning Perl" and then found Programming Perl to be a valuable reference. I do agree that the style does interfere with the clarity but this is not a fatal error. In comparison, Programming Python is a much more readable book rendering Learning Python a helpful aid rather than a necessity. Similarly, I found the Perl Cookbook to also be clear, to the point and easy to read. One other text I'd suggest as a companion to Programming Perl is the thoroughly excellent Mastering Regular Expressions (my favourite O'Reilly book).

Bottom Line: Learning Perl? - Get "Learning Perl" FIRST!


Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  June 29 1999
Submitted by Thomas Pedersen   [Respond | View]



As an experienced programmer, but new to Perl,
this book just is horrible. It lacks examples, explanations, and skips from beginner stuff to tricky perl code within a page. It makes assumtions that the reader is well versed within PERL (but nowhere does it make an attempt to say so).

It also lacks organization.

Basically, stay away from this book. A waste of money IMO.

KTP.




Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  June 29 1999
Submitted by Pankil Richards   [Respond | View]



If you're just starting out with programming in general,
or want to learn Perl, THIS BOOK IS AN EXTREMELY POOR CHOICE.

Stay away from it.


Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  April 13 1999
Submitted by Jose Cruiser   [Respond | View]



"Programming Perl" has more coffee stains, dog-eared pages and scribbles than any other book in my collection. It is the kind of book that grows on you - it isn't a textbook or a reference manual, it is a unique peak at the minds of the Perl cogniscenti and their quest to build the ultimate programming language. The book is rich with witty humor that is actually funny. This book begs to be read not once, not twice, but continually - every part of the book seems to touch every other part and an abstract or tangible way. And reading the book over again will reveal new revelations about the language with each iteration.

"Programming Perl" by Wall, Christensen and Schwartz has my highest rating. I would highly recommend it to any serious programmer. Why, I would even recommend it to a manager!


Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  January 28 1999
Submitted by Wally Holland (mr_mole@media.mit.edu)   [Respond | View]



This is the most enjoyable technical text I've ever read. If you're new to programming, it won't explain many critical concepts, but this book introduces you to the Perl ideology (and all the syntax) in grand fashion.

If you're totally new to Perl, "Learning Perl" may be a better first choice. But hit this volume soon, because it communicates effectively the philosophy behind Perl.

The quality of the writing can not be stressed enough -- it is a blast to read. And when you find that you're working with Perl a fair amount (or an unfair amount!) complement this volume with "The Perl Cookbook" which is equally indispensable.


Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  January 11 1999
Submitted by Michael T. Richter (mtr@ottawa.com)   [Respond | View]



This book is the reason I no longer use Perl (except when forced to work on legacy code). Perl 4 was a nice language, if a bit kitchen-sinky. The Camel Book for Perl 4 was a great introduction to the language and got me up and running in no time.

Perl 5 is an abomination of a language. A whole bunch of marginally useful material was added to it at a tremendous increase in complexity. This edition of the Camel Book highlights the new Perl perfectly -- it is a much harder read than the original book and it didn't actually add much (and lost a lot!) to the original.

I program in Python when I want to do script hacking these days.


Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  January 07 1999
Submitted by Vir Sine Ore   [Respond | View]



I think Perl 5.0 is an extremely powerful programming tool, one that I have used extensively. I wish Larry, Tom, and Randal would have presented some of the more abstruse concepts, for instance, package creation and OO-programming in a more clear and concise manner. Those concepts were presented in an oblique, vague style of explanation. They should read the "Programming Python" book from Oreilly; Mark Lutz does a splendid job of explaining the salient features of the programming language while maintaining a wry sense of humor. Mark uses highly detailed illustrations to compliment the well written textual descriptions. I am surprised by the fact that the "Python" programming language is significantly less popular than "Perl". I would conjecture that "Python" would mandate a cleaner coding style and a more strict programming discipline than that of Perl; this alone is probably a big detractor for those hasty Perl Hackers. Maybe one day the Python may swallow Camel whole.

Vale mei amici amicaeque


Programming Perl, 2nd Edition Review,  December 06 1998
Submitted by Sean Rukse   [Respond | View]



I just got the book and I am new to perl. It seems ok from my view point but I am only on chapter 3. So we will see how it works on a newbie such as myself.

See larger cover