Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 408 pages
- Published by: For Dummies
- Edition: 4th Edition March 21, 2003
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0764537504
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764537509
-
Book Dimensions:
9.1 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
- Weighs: 1.3 pounds
Product Review
The standard for Perl books is, of course, Perl founder Larry Wall's
Programming Perl. But every journey requires a first step, and the assumption that everyone interested in learning Perl has a programmer's background can make other Perl books inaccessible to the absolute beginner. Enter
Perl for Dummies, a book that presumes that the reader wants to know only how to master the mechanics of Perl.
Just because it starts at the beginning--and we're talking about the very basics--doesn't mean that
Perl for Dummies doesn't head into more advanced topics. Paul Hoffman explains the programming terminology and mathematical concepts that programming in Perl requires. He also moves beyond basic file manipulation, discussing pattern matching and using regular expressions. He touches on good Perl style, as well as object-oriented Perl.
He's not averse to criticizing what he perceives as Perl's shortcomings, but he also counters with a section called "10 Reasons Why Perl Is Better Than Java." Hoffman takes great pride in demystifying Perl--a goal that fits in well with Larry Wall's own philosophy of promoting Perl's accessibility. As a way into the "duct tape" programming language,
Perl for Dummies fulfills its mission.
--Jennifer Buckendorff
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Scientific Computing and Instrumentation, Sept. 2000
* Recommended by Editor, John Joyce for learning PERL(page 10).
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: Perl for Dummies (Third Edition) (Paperback)
I am copying an excerpt from "The Perl Journal" review of this book. __START__ Summary: This is a really rotten book. Very few books are able to attain as many as eight major flaws: 1. 'Dummy' approach encourages and reinforces the reader's disability 2. Lack of concrete programming examples 3. Lack of general discussion of how to program, apart from language-specific features 4. Reference manual organization style 5. Inclusion of too many useless and abstruse features 6. Complicated explanations where simple ones are possible 7. Scaremongering and panic instead of calm explanation of affairs 8. Many, many technical errors, some very serious __END__ I taught myself Perl with little programming background (BASIC, twenty years ago). I started 1 1/2 years ago and am now using it daily as a web developer and data analyst. Learning Perl from the books and resources out there is *extremely* difficult. There were many times I could've saved 3 weeks of hammering on a script if a perl guru had said, "Hey, list context just means the function wants a list, like an array or hash." I understand very well that the O'Reilly books are godawful for a beginner b/c that's where I started and suffered long from every explanation that said simply, "It's just like in C, so we won't explain it." That said, the books are pretty terrific once you're at a level to absorb them, but steer clear before then, unless you already know everything that POSIX means. It might be tempting to pick up this book b/c there are pretty much no Perl books for those who haven't coded already. You should consider "The Elements of Perl" instead of this one. It's a better start for beginners and a wonderful way to start to understand Perl, its idioms, its culture, and how to program well. There is also "The Perl Black Book" which is a much better overview of the Perl than any single O'Reilly book, though the author isn't a guru, he's a good writer and tackles everything from the basics to advanced stuff with lots of examples and a CD with all the code. Perl is wonderful, so please do pick up a book, just not this one.
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