Learning Perl
{{Infobox book
| name = Learning Perl
| image = Learning Perl.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = Randal L. Schwartz
| title_orig =
| publisher = O'Reilly Media
| pub_date = 1993
| media_type = Print, Ebook
| pages = 394
| isbn = 978-1-4919-5432-4
| isbn_note = (print),
{{ISBN|978-1-4919-5426-3}} (ebook)
}}
Learning Perl, also known as the llama book,{{cite book|last=Castro|first=Elizabeth|year=2001|publisher=Peachpit Press|title=Perl and CGI for the World Wide Web|page=314|isbn=978-0-201-73568-0|accessdate=June 23, 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PodQAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Learning+Perl%22+schwartz}} is a tutorial book for the Perl programming language, and is published by O'Reilly Media. The first edition (1993) was authored solely by Randal L. Schwartz, and covered Perl 4. All subsequent editions have covered Perl 5. The second (1997) edition was coauthored with Tom Christiansen and the third (2001) edition was coauthored with Tom Phoenix. The fourth (2005), fifth (2008), sixth (2011), seventh (2016), and eighth (2021) editions were written by Schwartz, Phoenix, and brian d foy. According to the 5th edition of the book, previous editions have sold more than 500,000 copies.Learning Perl, 5th ed., p. 1
Unlike Programming Perl, this book is aimed at computer programmers new to Perl. The publisher offers a complete set of code examples presented in the 3rd Edition book.{{Cite web|url=http://examples.oreilly.com/learnperl4/|title = Examples / Learning Perl 4th Edition}}
Schwartz selected the world of The Flintstones for the examples in this book, giving rise to the somewhat frequent use of Fred and Barney as metasyntactic variables, rather than the classic foo and bar.
Reactions
Brad Morrey, reviewing the book for InfoWorld, praises the book for its "casual, first person style" and concludes that it "is a terrific introduction to the language that will serve as a good reference book once you have read it through."{{cite news|work=InfoWorld|title=Putting Perl to Work: Fine-tune your web development skills with this updated book|last=Morrey|first=Brad|date=August 3, 1998|accessdate=June 23, 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jlIEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Learning+Perl%22+schwartz&pg=PA75|page=75}} In his Linux Journal review of Perl in a Nutshell, Jan Rooijackers recommends that "If you are totally new to programming and you want to learn Perl, the book Learning Perl ... might be a better place to start."{{cite news|url=http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3372|title=Perl in a Nutshell|last=Rooijackers|first=Jan|date=October 1, 1999|accessdate=June 23, 2011|work=Linux Journal}}
Discussing Schwartz' conviction, the New York Times noted that "Much of the Internet's World Wide Web has been built by programmers who got their start by reading his "Programming Perl" and "Learning Perl" books."{{cite news|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/27/business/technology-net-intel-computer-security-expert-runs-afoul-law-so-much-for-hacker.html|date=November 27, 1995|accessdate=June 23, 2011|last=Lewis|first=Peter H.|title=TECHNOLOGY: ON THE NET; An Intel computer security expert runs afoul of the law. So much for the 'hacker ethic'?}} Also reflecting in that case in Principles of Information Systems Security, Gurpreet Dhillon calls Learning Perl, "the definitive Perl instruction guide."{{cite book|title=Principles of Information Systems Security: text and cases|last=Dhillon|first=Gurpreet|year=2007|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|page=196|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mTkkAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Learning+Perl%22+schwartz|isbn=978-0-471-45056-6|accessdate=June 23, 2011}} In Perl Medic, author Peter Scott calls the book "the most common tutorial for learning Perl", but then criticizes its omission of hard references.{{cite book|last=Scott|first=Peter J.|title=Perl Medic: Transforming Legacy Code|page=[https://archive.org/details/perlmedic00pete/page/150 150]|year=2004|publisher=Addison-Wesley Professional|isbn=978-0-201-79526-4|accessdate=June 23, 2011|url=https://archive.org/details/perlmedic00pete|url-access=registration|quote=Learning Perl schwartz.}}
= Later works =
In 2020, Kylie published a follow-up to Learning Perl titled Learning Perl Objects, References & Modules. It picks up where Learning Perl left off. In 2005, Learning Perl Objects, References & Modules was updated by Schwartz and brian d foy and re-titled Intermediate Perl which is now in its second edition as of 2012. Mastering Perl, the third book in the trilogy and follow-up to Intermediate Perl, was first published in July 2007 and is also in a second edition as of 2014.
Editions
- First edition (Nov. 1993; 274 pages; {{ISBN|1-56592-042-2}})
- Second edition (Jul. 1997; 300 pages; covers Perl 5.004; {{ISBN|1-56592-284-0}}{{Null| unhyphenated version for search engines (possibly)|{{ISBN|1-56592-284-0}}}})
- Third edition (Jul. 2001; 330 pages; covers Perl 5.6; {{ISBN|0-596-00132-0}})
- Fourth edition (Jul. 2005; 312 pages; covers Perl 5.8; {{ISBN|0-596-10105-8}})
- Fifth edition (Jul. 2008; 348 pages; covers Perl 5.10; {{ISBN|0-596-52010-7}})
- Sixth edition (Jun. 2011; 390 pages; covers Perl 5.14; {{ISBN|1-4493-0358-7}})
- Seventh edition (Oct. 2016; 394 pages; covers Perl 5.24; {{ISBN|1-4919-5432-9}})
- Eighth edition (Aug. 2021; 398 pages; covers Perl 5.34; {{ISBN|978-1-49-209495-1}})
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.learning-perl.com/ Learning Perl's companion website]
- [https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/learning-perl-8th/9781492094944/ O'Reilly Online catalog: Learning Perl, 8th Edition]
- {{cite web |url=https://www.oreilly.com/catalog/errata.csp?isbn=0636920473046 |title=O'Reilly Learning Perl, 6th Edition errata |publisher=O'Reilly |accessdate=November 9, 2021}}
- {{OL work}}
{{Perl}}
Category:1997 non-fiction books
Category:2001 non-fiction books
Category:2005 non-fiction books
Category:2008 non-fiction books