false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180352603m/1029463.jpg 1029463 4 The standard for Perl books is, of course, Perl founder Larry Wall's <I>Programming Perl</I>. 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 <I>Perl for Dummies</I>, a book that presumes that the reader wants to know only how to master the mechanics of Perl.<p> Just because it starts at the beginning--and we're talking about the very basics--doesn't mean that <I>Perl for Dummies</I> 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.<p> 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, <I>Perl for Dummies</I> fulfills its mission. <I>--Jennifer Buckendorff</I> 1015718 1997 Perl for Dummies (Fourth Edition) total:10|5:2|4:2|3:4|2:1|1:1| 10 33 17 3 0 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue May 05 09:07:20 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 09:07:50 -0700 2009 2 3 0 false false Mon Aug 25 20:39:13 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 25 20:43:29 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Oct 30 18:55:12 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 30 18:55:12 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Oct 05 16:40:42 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 16:40:42 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jun 19 14:35:25 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 14:35:25 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 16:18:06 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 16:18:18 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Apr 19 09:53:33 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 09:53:38 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Aug 25 11:55:48 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 25 11:55:48 -0700 2008 1 0 false false Mon Jun 23 21:22:12 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 23 21:22:12 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Wed Apr 30 12:10:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 12:10:00 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Tue Feb 12 18:48:18 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 18:48:18 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Wed Jan 02 16:12:09 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 16:12:09 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Thu Dec 06 19:15:39 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 06 19:15:39 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Thu Oct 18 11:06:11 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 18 11:06:11 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Sat Oct 13 14:28:58 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 13 14:28:58 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Sat Sep 29 00:33:39 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 29 00:33:39 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Thu Sep 13 15:07:48 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 13 15:07:48 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1029463