where to start with perl?

[jabberwock486]

i know very little about programing. however i want to learn, even if it is basic(no pun intended)
some have suddgested perl as a good place to start. So my question is, what are good resources, manuals, websites and other such things about perl programing.
i use to do a very basic programing useing binary, and i think basic. however that was when i was 6 and many years ago.

[deanpence]

The ?Camel Book?, as it?s commonly known, was my favorite for learning Perl. Search for O?Reilly?s Learning Perl or Programming in Perl (I think those are the correct titles).

Or just hunt around at ActiveState or perl.com.

[samaru]

I don't think Perl is a good place to start. I think C++ would be better. I'm not saying Perl is a bad language, but I don't think it should be your first. C++ has more capabilities than most programming language out there, and it's highly used in the work place, schools, and universities. Also, the resources are enormous. Another thing that I might add is that the C++ syntax is special. Because C++/C has been around longer than popular languages such as Perl, PHP, JavaScript, C#, and Java, if you learn the C++ syntax, it'll be easier learning another language because the syntax derived from C++/C.

Here's the bottom line:

If you want to learn the basics of programming, I (not only me, but schools, universities, and many IT professionals) suggest C++.

If you want to learn the basics of web programming, go with PHP or ColdFusion

Books I recommend:

C++ - Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0672322072/qid=1058172399/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-6741033-4580011?v=glance&s=books

PHP - PHP and MySQL Web Development, Second Edition
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/067232525X/qid=1058172680/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-6741033-4580011?v=glance&s=books

ColdFusion - ColdFusion MX Web Application Construction Kit, Fifth Edition
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0321125169/qid=1058172716/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-6741033-4580011?v=glance&s=books

If you want more details about anything else, such as why I personally recommend C++ over Perl, let me know. 8)

My favorite Perl book by the way is "Beginning Perl" by Simon Cozens and Peter Wainwright.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1861003145/qid=1058172887/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-6741033-4580011?v=glance&s=books

[big_k105]

jabberwock486,

what kind of stuff do you want to be doing when you start programming. Perl probably a pretty good language to learn cause its pretty simple and its syntax is actally alot like c or c++, so it wouldnt be hard to go over to c++ after you have perl down. and i remember hearing from someone that there is alot more syntax to have to remember with one of the c languages and it will take longer to get c down. and perl has less stuff to remember cause its not nearly as powerful. and i agree with deanpence that O'Reilly has some great books they are awsome. well thats my 2 cents on the matter hope it helps

[Iron_Cross]

an awesome site for learning perl is
http://oreilly.codecastle.com/

Now for C++ over Perl....That's tough.
I agree that C++ is more useful (though if you are planning on working *nix environments perl might be a tad more useful).
I also agree that C++ teachs an awesome base for syntax, many other languages have similar syntaxes to c++, so it teachs a good backgroud for those others.
The only problem I have with learning C++ as a first language is that since it is extremely powerful, and extremely flexible, it is also quite complex and confusing at times.
I moved into C++ after learning a good deal of perl, python, php, and a few other small languages. I didn't have too great of a problem with it (other than bitwise operators, lol), granted I'm not near done learning.
As a first language, I'm not sure if I would recomend C++, unless you're in for a challenge and have a deffinate reason for learning it.
Perl was nice, but if you're not planning on using it for *nix or web environments I would choose another langauge.
If you decide to go wtih C++ and awesome book to start out with is Ivor Horton's 'Beginning C++' it REALLY helped me.

Hope this helps some :)

[samaru]

I think the syntax for Perl can get more cryptic than C++. In Perl there are too many ways to do things that it can get confusing. Most books introduce these shortcuts too soon that I think can confuse a newbie right away. Also, a lot of those shortcuts and methods of doing things are unique to Perl that won't carry over to other languages. I've programmed in over 15 languages and the most cryptic code I've seen has been in Perl.

C++ can get pretty nasty, but only when you're trying to do advanced things, and some of those, you can't even do in Perl.

[jabberwock486]

i do have the C++ in 24 hours book. so i guess i will start with C++. anways thanks for the help

[samaru]

Let us know how it turns out. 8)

[deanpence]

This is the order in which I learned to program:

• Basic
• QBasic
• Pascal
• C
• C++
• Java
• Perl
• ...

A very important point should be noted about learning in that order: I learned procedural programming first, and I recommend this course to any new programmer. Learn C (or Pascal or some other procedural language) first. Then move to the object-oriented stuff (like C++, Java, and Perl). First, the procedural parts of object-oriented languages like Perl will be a cinch, and second, object-orientation will come much more easily. Also, learning rudimentary languages like PHP and VBS is a cinch after all that.

As for learning Perl, it’s a bitch. There’s probably ten times as much to learn for Perl than there is for Java—and not quite that much more than for C++. Perl is not for the faint of heart. Of course, the great thing about Perl is that you can just learn what is familiar to you and use that. You don’t have to learn everything about Perl to use it.

[Eico]

I think that learning QBASIC in your spare time is the perfect foundation for learning programming. Me and my friend (i686-linux) used to send QBASIC games and screensavers and chat over hyperterminal when we were young and too broke for internet access. That was so addicting that I craved for more, and so started the adventure of learning perl, python, C, C++, and I still want to learn assembly.

[liliafan]

I don't think C++ is a great language to begin with, I think most people should start with a procedural language and then move to object orientated.

I begin with:
pascal
delphi
c
perl
visual basic (ack)
c++

Of course everyone thinks that their route to learning was the best in the end experiment with different languages and find the one that suits you best, then go on from there, perl can be a very easy language it can also be very complex, C++ is very powerful and will let you do pretty much anything but it can be very difficult to learn, pascal is a great language to begin with since it is mostly a learning language unfortunatly it is pretty much a dead language there is very little demand for it in the real world.

Hope my 2 cents worth helps

Ben

[Sphyenx]

This is the order in which I learned to program:

• Basic
• QBasic
• Pascal
• C
• C++
• Java
• Perl
• ...

A very important point should be noted about learning in that order: I learned procedural programming first, and I recommend this course to any new programmer. Learn C (or Pascal or some other procedural language) first. Then move to the object-oriented stuff (like C++, Java, and Perl). First, the procedural parts of object-oriented languages like Perl will be a cinch, and second, object-orientation will come much more easily. Also, learning rudimentary languages like PHP and VBS is a cinch after all that.

As for learning Perl, it’s a bitch. There’s probably ten times as much to learn for Perl than there is for Java—and not quite that much more than for C++. Perl is not for the faint of heart. Of course, the great thing about Perl is that you can just learn what is familiar to you and use that. You don’t have to learn everything about Perl to use it.

are all those free., were can i get tutorials for them, and can they be written on windows 98. Ill use that advice + do i need to know html to write those? cause if i do, ill dive deeper QUICKER. lol. Thank you.

[kaiser<lucy>]

I don't think C++ is a great language to begin with, I think most people should start with a procedural language and then move to object orientated.

im not sure that i agree that you should start with a strictly procedural language. most introductory books that i've read on c++ start with solely procedural methods and then move onto object oriented material after giving a foundation in procedural programming.

[briang71]

PERL kicks major ass. If you are a UNIX system administrator, PERL can be your best friend.
That is, as far as scripting, why bother with ksh, bash scripting when you can do perl.

[liliafan]

PERL kicks major ass. If you are a UNIX system administrator, PERL can be your best friend.
That is, as far as scripting, why bother with ksh, bash scripting when you can do perl.

I agree perl does kick ass, it is in my opinion the best scripting language there is (python affectionados need not flame it is just an opinion), however, this said shell languages do have an important place, and are very useful to Unix Sys admins, I used to manage a medium sized solaris, bsd and linux network, and I would never have been able to maintain the network on perl alone. Different tasks require different languages, for example a script to alter a network interface is a very simple task using a shell script it becomes more complex when using perl.

Perl is a great language for most tasks and a language that it is possible to do just about anything in, however, just because you can do it doesn't mean it is the right tool for the job, at perl.com at the moment they are doing a series of articles on writing an openGL 3D engine in perl, it is a nice fun thing to do but in the real world if you are going to write a 3D engine a better tool for the job would be C/C++.

Just my 2 cents worth

Ben