Perl: The Programmer's Companion

 

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 005
EAN: 9780471975632
ISBN: 047197563X
Label: Wiley
Manufacturer: Wiley
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 292
Publication Date: 1997-09-25
Publisher: Wiley
Studio: Wiley

Perl 5 Programmer's Notebook
Effective Perl Programming: Writing Better Programs With Perl
Perl: The Programmer's Companion
Advanced Perl Programming
Perl for C Programmers
Programming Perl for the World Wide Web
Programming the Perl DBI
The Perl 5 Programmer's Reference
Win32 Perl Programming: The Standard Extensions
Professional Perl Programming

There are now a number of good Perl books available, but this excellent contribution stands out in a number of ways (apart from the rarity that it's not from O'Reilly). The most significant way may be that Perl's computer-scientist author advocates the use of Perl as a full-fledged programming language in addition to recommending its use for system administration or CGI programs.

This book is a fine introduction to Perl for experienced C, C++, and Java programmers. Perl has plenty of sidebars that explain the differences between Perl and these other languages and how Perl can help you overcome the limitations of these languages.

Chapman starts off with language basics, but instead of listing all the basic constructs and introducing the obligatory "Hello, world!" program, he introduces you to what he terms "programming idioms." This thought-provoking approach gradually eases you into learning the basic Perl constructs without presenting you with dry examples and tables of potentially confusing information. By the time you realize what's going on, it's too late: you've already learned something. The book has some great chapters, and it even describes how to scope variables correctly (apparently no mean feat, since few tutorials get it right).

The advanced chapters on references and objects really shine. Examples of objects lead you through a logical progression from project visualization to finished product. The author then assists you in creating a set of modules that calculate taxes for a small town, where different rates exist for business and residential buildings. Here, the guide introduces and explains several key concepts for Perl object manipulation.

The examples in the book make sense and, best of all, they are original and have real-world relevance. When explaining pack() and unpack(), the author creates a wonderful example of parsing the headers of a MIDI file to gather track data and then process the individual tracks of the file. While the book does not pack the heft of some Perl tomes (it only contains 273 pages), it's crammed with great examples and ideas. In short, Perl: The Programmer's Companionis a great addition to any Perl programmer's library.

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not a useful reference book
Review: Not a good choice for a reference book. Would be useful only if interested in light reading about a subject that you are already familiar with. I would highly encourage any newbie or anyone wanting to get real work done to avoid this book.... your time and money (sorry I already spent mine) would best be spent elsewhere.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Useful code examples keep reader interested
Review: Easy to read, with many useful code examples in every chapter which I could use immedialtely in my work. I liked it a lot, and since I have plenty of *real* exercises from my job, I didn't miss the lack of contrived exercises at all!

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent for learning Perl if you are literate
Review: One of the other reviewers (who gave the book only 2 stars) complained: >The wording was difficult to interpret. It seemed as if it was written for someone in their fourth year of college at Harvard University (which sort of an exagerration, but it did seem like that at times).<

The reviewer may not realize that the author is British. The British generally seem to be more articulate than Americans, so the language reflects that difference.

That aside, this book is a good choice for new Perl programmers, in that it is less "techie", although it still has some real substance to it.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Great book for experienced programmers learning Perl
Review: Perl The Programmer's Companion is a great book for experienced programmers who want to learn Perl. While the camel book is the "must-have" reference, it really doesn't teach Perl programming. Chapman explains how to use Perl effectively, along with the language's subtleties and nuances. He also devotes some effort in describing good Perl programming style.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fun read, useful reference
Review: Nigel Chapman has an awesome talent for conveying material clearly and concisely. In just 273 pages, you will learn all the basics and then some. Chapman copiously supplants his dictatorial, amusing content with practical examples. The tables dispersed throughout the book add to its value as a reference, and I've found them extremely useful on many occasions.

Be aware, however, that this book will confuse you in no time if you're not already familiar with another programming language. He doesn't start with the classic "Hello, world!" example but quickly jumps into regular expressions, and he doesn't go out of his way to explain concepts like arrays and objects before teaching their syntax. Chapman concludes with overviews of some useful modules and CGI programming (both sections are somewhat outdated by now, though).

My criticisms of this book are that its layout is somewhat primitive (this is not exactly a pretty book), and Chapman is afraid to venture too far into anything that's even slightly OS-dependent, like sockets and database programming (not included in his overview of modules). In my version, there also aren't any exercises at the end of the chapters.

Overall, however, this book is PERFECT for you if you're somewhat literate (in at least one programming language and in the English language) and would like to learn Perl as quickly as possible. Highly recommended. And unlike whatever reviewers have suggested, I think it makes a lovely reference, too.

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