Written by one of today's top-selling author's on programming languages, this practical, trailblazing guide to learning Perl offers all the advantages of a reference manual with a detailed, yet concise study on all of the language's key elements, and is not dependent upon either UNIX or Windows. Begins with a complete introduction to Perl: what it is, scripts vs. programs, its central characteristics, and more. Examines scalar types, expressions, and simple input and output; control statements; arrays; hashes and references; functions; pattern matching; files, input/output, and formats; CGI programming with Perl; and other advanced topics. Each chapter includes a summary and numerous exercises. For professionals in the computer science and related fields.

With insightful tips and techniques for programming with Perl, this efficient little guide provides immediate solutions with field tested examples to help programmers and Web developers quickly solve problems and fully utilize the power and flexibility of the cross-platform programming language.

For years, 10-year-old Zelly Fried has tried to convince her parents to let her have a dog. After all, practically everyone in Vermont owns a dog, and it sure could go a long way helping Zelly fit in since moving there from Brooklyn. But when her eccentric grandfather Ace hatches a ridiculous plan involving a "practice dog" named O.J., Zelly's not so sure how far she's willing to go to win a dog of her own. Is Ace's plan so crazy it just might work . . . or is it just plain crazy? Erica S. Perl weaves an affectionate and hilarious tale that captures the enduring bond between grandparents and grandchildren. Even when they're driving each other nuts.

A guide to getting the most out of Perl covers such topics as productivity hacks, user interaction, data munging, working with modules, object hacks, and debugging.

*Condensed, readable style; delivers tremendous value in just one book. This book offers *THE resource for focused and pragmatic industrial solutions in Perl, while the competing *best-sellers are older, quirkier and shallower treatments of Perl. *Thorough discussion of Perl—from installations to applications development; ideal for working Perl programmers in 2005. *Wainwright is a respected Perl expert and author of industry-respected Pro Apache title.

The sixth edition of this bestselling Perl tutorial includes recent changes to the language. Years of classroom testing and experience helped shape the book's pace and scope, and this edition is packed with exercises that let readers practice the concepts while they follow the text.

Big Bird likes big things as opposed to Little Bird's little things, but both like each other.

Covers advanced features of Perl, how the Perl interpreter works, and presents areas of modern computing technology such as networking, user interfaces, persistence, and code generation.

This book offers a collection of 256 guidelines on the art of coding to help you write better Perl code--in fact, the best Perl code you possibly can. The guidelines cover code layout, naming conventions, choice of data and control structures, program decomposition, interface design and implementation, modularity, object orientation, error handling, testing, and debugging. - Publisher

Some people plan to become administrators. The rest of us are thrust into it: we are webmasters, hobbyists, or just the default "technical people" on staff who are expected to keep things running. After some stumbling around repeating the same steps over and over again (and occasionally paying the price when we forget one), we realize that we must automate these tasks, or suffer endless frustration. Thus enters Perl.The Perl programming language is ideal for writing quick yet powerful scripts that automate many administrative tasks. It's modular, it's powerful, and it's perfect for managing systems and services on many platforms.Perl for System Administration is designed for all levels of administrators--from hobbyists to card-carrying SAGE members--sysadmins on multi-platform sites. Written for several different platforms (Unix, Windows NT, and Mac OS), it's a guide to the pockets of administration where Perl can be most useful for sites large and small, including: Filesystem management User administration with a dash of XML DNS and other network name services Database administration using DBI and ODBC Directory services and frameworks like LDAP and ADSI Using email for system administration Working with log files of all kinds Each chapter concentrates on a single administrative area, discusses the possible pitfalls, and then shows how Perl comes to the rescue. Along the way we encounter interesting Perl features and tricks, with many extended examples and complete programs. The scripts included in the book can simply be used as written or with minimal adaptation. But it's likely that readers will also get a taste of what Perl can do, and start extending those scripts for tasks that we haven't dreamed of.Perl for System Adminstration doesn't attempt to teach the Perl language, but it is an excellent introduction to the power and flexibility of Perl, and it whets the appetite to learn more. It's for anyone who needs to use Perl for system administration and needs to hit the ground running.