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Learn Perl
So, you want to learn perl? Where to start? A good place is
this introduction
or any of the books in the Beginners section below. As you learn more, you can move down the book lists and visit www.perl.org and www.cpan.org for more information.
News
Beginners First Response helps you find the answers to the question you're about to ask.
Announcing the learn.perl.org Online
Library where you can read your favorite perl books.
You can now read the beginners lists (and all other perl.org
mailinglists) with your newsreader (Unix, Windows or
MacOS readers) from the news
server
nntp.perl.org. You can
also browse it on
the web
Books
Books commonly recommended on the beginners lists. If a book isn't
mentioned in this list it might still be good, but there is a good
chance it isn't. :-)
Beginners
Learning Perl (3rd ed)
by Randal L. Schwartz, Tom Phoenix.
316 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(July 15, 2001).
Learning Perl is the tutorial book, covering how
you could spend the first 30 to 40 hours with Perl. New 3rd edition!
Buy from:
Amazon -
Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Learning Perl Objects, References & Modules
by Randal L. Schwartz with Tom Phoenix.
240 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(June 9, 2003).
Learning Perl Objects, References & Modules picks up where
Learning Perl leaves off. This new book offers a gentle introduction to the
world of references, object-oriented programming, and the use of Perl
modules that form the backbone of any effective Perl program. Following the
successful format of Learning Perl, each chapter in the book is designed to
be small enough to be read in just an hour or two. Each chapter ends with a
series of exercises to help you practice what you've learned with answers
in an appendix for your reference. In short, this book covers everything
that separates the Perl dabbler from the Perl programmer.
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Beginning Perl
by Simon Cozens, Peter Wainwright.
700 pages.
Wrox Press Inc.
(May 25, 2000).
Beginning Perl is a different kind of Perl book. It's written
particularly with the beginning programmer in mind, but it doesn't treat
you like an idiot, and experienced programmers will not feel patronised.
It covers a lot of ground, from the very basics of programming, right
through to developing CGI applications for the web. More importantly, it
emphasises good Perl practice, and readable and maintainable code.
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Elements of Programming with Perl
by Andrew L. Johnson.
350 pages.
Manning Publications Company.
(October 1999).
"If you come from a non-programming background and you want to learn
Perl go and buy this book. Now. The rest of the review will wait until
you get back. If your coming to Perl from another language and you
have basic to intermediate knowledge and experience of programming
concepts go and buy this book. If you know Perl well then buy this
book and when ever anyone asks you a lot of questions hand it to them
and smile as you realise you've just done them a favour." -- Dean Wilson, London.pm
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Perl Fast and Easy Web Development
by Les Bate.
405 pages.
Premier Press.
(November 12, 2002).
Perl Fasy and Easy Web Development is book is intended to get new web developers started building Web applications with Perl as quickly as possible. The first part of the book familiarizes the reader with enough of the basics of the Perl language to get started in web development, using brief examples to illustrate each point. From there, the reader is shown how forms can interact with Perl CGI programs and how to build CGI programs into Web-based, database-driven applications.
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
CGI Programming with Perl (2nd ed)
by Scott Guelich, Shishir Gundavaram, Gunther Birznieks, Linda Mui.
451 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(January 15, 2000).
The authors' second pass at CGI pedagogy is a lucid, honest, and expanded account that develops functionality of dynamic Web pages in a rational progression--from HTML client-server and CGI syntax basics to general input/output, forms, e-mail, graphics, and simple database applications, including maintaining client state and data persistence under the otherwise stateless HTTP protocol. The authors offer synopses of cookies, JavaScripting, server security, and XML, all of which are described in detail in other books. (from Amazon.com's review)
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
MacPerl: Power & Ease
by Vicky Brown and Chris Nandor.
372 pages.
(1998).
MacPerl: Power and Ease is designed for both the beginner to Perl, and those who want to take advantage of Perl on Mac OS. It's divided into three primary sections: learning about programming, learning about Perl, and advanced topics. The latter includes brief sections on objects and references, and more complete information on how to use the Mac toolbox modules for making windows and dialog boxes and using AppleScript with Perl. It covers the MacPerl based on perl 5.004, and Mac OS (Classic), but much of the first two parts apply to any platform, and much of the third part applies to Mac OS X
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Perl & LWP
by Sean M. Burke.
264 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(June 2002).
The LWP (Library for WWW in Perl) suite of modules lets your programs
download and extract information from the Web. Perl & LWP shows how to make
web requests, submit forms, and even provide authentication information,
and it demonstrates using regular expressions, tokens, and trees to parse
HTML. This book is a must have for Perl programmers who want to automate
and mine the Web.
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Picking Up Perl
by Bradley M. Kuhn.
self published.
(July 1999).
This book has been created for a number of reasons. The primary reason is to provide a freely redistributable tutorial for the Perl language. In writing this freely redistributable tutorial, it is our hope that the largest number of people can have access to it and share it.
In the Perl community, we have discovered ways to save time by writing Perl programs that make our jobs and lives easier. Surely, Perl is not a panacea, but it has certainly made our lives a little bit better. It is hoped that you can use Perl to make your jobs and lives easier, too.
Essentials
Programming Perl, 3rd ed
by Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, Jon Orwant.
1092 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(July 2000).
The revised and updated reference book for Perl 5.
Buy from:
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Bookpool
The Perl Cookbook
by Tom Christiansen, Nathan Torkington, Larry Wall.
794 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(August 1998).
"Precious few books can meet the needs of novices and experts
simultaneously. The Perl Cookbook does, and on nearly every
page. It has the perfect mix of instruction, revelation, and
attitude." --Jon Orwant, editor of The Perl Journal
Buy from:
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Bookpool
Perl 6 Essentials
by Allison Randal, Dan Sugalski and Leopold Totsch.
208 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(June 27, 2003).
Perl 6 Essentials is the first book that offers a peek
into the development of the new Perl language while it's still in flux.
Written by members of the Perl 6 core development team, the book covers the
development not only of Perl 6 syntax but also Parrot, the
language-independent interpreter developed as part of the Perl 6 design
strategy. This book is essential reading for anyone committed to the Perl
community. It will satisfy their curiosity and show how changes in the
language will make it more powerful and easier to use.
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Advanced
Advanced Perl Programming
by Sriram Srinivasan.
434 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(August 1997).
Somewhat dated, but still a good and broad
introduction to many more advanced topics
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Perl Debugged
by Peter J. Scott, Ed Wright.
288 pages.
Addison-Wesley Pub Co.
(March 27, 2001).
I *highly* recommend Perl Debugged to anyone at
the beginning or intermediate stage in Perl
programming, particularly to programmers who have
less than 2-4 years of debugging experience in
general. An experienced programmer, on the other
hand, will want to buy a copy (copies?) to browse
and then hand to his junior co-worker(s) with
stern instructions to "read first, code later."
-- Joseph N. Hall (author of Effective Perl
Programming)
Buy from:
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Bookpool
Effective Perl Programming
by Joseph N. Hall.
288 pages.
Addison-Wesley Pub Co.
(January 1998).
Buy from:
Amazon -
Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Embedding Perl in HTML with Mason
by Dave Rolsky, Ken Williams.
318 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(October 2002).
This book shows you how to create large, complex, dynamically driven web sites that look good and are a snap to maintain. You'll learn how to visualize multiple Mason-based solutions to any given problem and select among them. The book covers the latest line of Mason development 1.1x, which has many new features, including line number reporting based on source files, sub-requests, and easier use as a CGI.
Buy from:
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Bookpool
Writing Apache Modules with Perl and C: The Apache API and mod_perl
by Lincoln Stein, Doug MacEachern, Linda Mui (Editor).
724 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(March 1999).
Writing Apache Modules with Perl and C will allow you to enhance your Apache HTTP server in just about any way you'd like. Overall, it is an excellent book, and it has a lot of good information and terrific examples on everything from "Content Handlers" to customizing the Apache server configuration process. -- Doug Beaver.
Buy from:
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Bookpool
Practical mod_perl
by Stas Bekman & Eric Cholet.
924 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(May 27, 2003).
Mod_perl embeds the popular programming language Perl in
the Apache web server, giving rise to a fast and powerful web programming
environment. Written for Perl web developers and web administrators,
Practical mod_perl is an extensive guide to the nuts and bolts of the
powerful and popular combination of Apache and mod_perl. From writing and
debugging scripts to keeping your server running without failures, the
techniques in this book will help you squeeze every ounce of power out of
your server. True to its title, this is the practical guide to mod_perl.
review
Buy from:
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Bookpool
mod_perl Developer's Cookbook
by Geoffrey Young, Paul Lindner, Randy Kobes.
650 pages.
Sams Publishing.
(January 2002).
A practical, hands-on guide that shows you how to exploit
the power of mod_perl.
review
Buy from:
Amazon -
Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Mastering Regular Expressions, 2nd edition
by Jeffrey E. Friedl.
496 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(July 15, 2002).
Mastering Regular Expressions, Second Edition has been thoroughly updated to include all the new features of Perl 5.8, as well as several other languages, including Java, VB.NET, C#, Python, JavaScript, Tcl, and Ruby. Written in the lucid, entertaining tone that made a complex, dry topic crystal-clear to thousands of programmers, and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions offers a wealth information that you can put to immediate use.
review
Buy from:
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Bookpool
Extended and Embedding Perl
by Tim Jenness and Simon Cozens.
384 pages.
Manning Publications Company.
(July 2002).
Extending and Embedding Perl explains how to expand the functionality and usefulness of the Perl programming language and how to use Perl from C programs. It begins simply but also covers complex issues using real code examples from the Perl source. The book discusses how to write interfaces to C libraries (as well as C++ and Fortran libraries). It shows you how to implement Perl callbacks for C libraries, how to pass Perl hashes and arrays between Perl and C, and how to use the Perl Data Language infrastructure to improve the speed of array operations.
Buy from:
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Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Programming the Perl DBI
by Alligator Descartes, Tim Bunce.
346 pages.
O'Reilly & Associates.
(February 2000).
Database programming with Perl
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Object Oriented Perl
by Damian Conway.
490 pages.
Manning Publications Company.
(August 1999).
Filled with syntactic tips and tricks, Object Oriented Perl is a sure bet for any programmer who wants to learn how to use Perl objects effectively.
review
Buy from:
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Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Perl: The Programmer's Companion
by Nigel Chapman.
292 pages.
John Wiley & Sons.
(September 25, 1997).
Buy from:
Amazon -
Powells -
Amazon UK -
Bookpool
Information on submitting more books
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