Both a reference and tutorial, this book covers the varieties of Perl and their system and Web applications. Chapters address scripts, printing, names, operators, pattern matching, files, subroutines, libraries, references, databases, interfaces, report writing, CGI, and related topics. An accompanying CD-ROM contains all the source code in the book. Quigley teaches at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
This is among the better programming books I've ever seen. What sets this apart is the focus on example code and the subsequent breakdown of the nuances of the code. I have plenty of other programming experience, but Perl has never been something in which to invest time until recently, and I think this is an excellent reference for the practitioner, and introduction for the neophyte. Every programming tool deserves this treatment.
Probably the best book on Perl I've come across. Every single topic is illustrated with examples. I typed out most of the examples by hand and ran them and it was great for learning. I'll definitely read more of her books on other programming languages.