From Book News, Inc.
Based on the second edition of , modified to be applicable to Perl programming on Windows NT systems. Provides a "gentle" (from the preface) introduction (rather than a comprehensive guide), touching on most common operations and language idioms found in Perl programs. Each chapter ends with exercises. Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR


Book Description
In this smooth, carefully paced course, leading Perl trainers and a Windows NT practitioner teach you to program in the language that promises to emerge as the scripting language of choice on NT. Perl for Win32 is a language for easily manipulating text, files, user and group profiles, performance and event logs, and registry entries. Based on the "llama book," Learning Perl on Win32 Systems features tips for PC users and new NT-specific examples, along with a foreword by Larry Wall, the creator of Perl, and Dick Hardt, the creator of Perl for Win32. The contents include: An introduction to "the Perl way" for Windows usersA quick tutorial stroll through Perl in one lessonSystematic, topic-by-topic coverage of Perl's broad capabilitiesInnumerable, brief code examplesProgramming exercises for each topic, with fully worked-out answersAccess to NT system functions through PerlDatabase access with PerlCGI programming with PerlPerl modules for OLE automation and the Registry


Book Info
Provides an introduction to the Perl way for Window users. Includes topic-by-topic coverage of Perl's broad capabilities and many brief code examples, and programming exercises. Covers arrays and list data, file and directory manipulation, CGI programming and more. Paper.

ANNOTATION

Similar in concept and execution to the classic "llama" book on which it is based, this excellent Perl 5 tutorial is specific to the Win32 programming environment and Windows NT. This "gentle introduction to Perl" guides you through the syntax and structure of the language itself, clarifies scalar and list data concepts, then explains control structures, basic I/O, notion and use of functions and regular expressions. Walks you through file handles and tests, formats, hashes and additional topics. Discusses file, directory and database manipulation, process management, data transformation and sorting. Explains system information concepts, CGI programming and OLE automation issues. Exercises are available for downloading. This is a very good self-teaching tutorial or class text. The differences between this publication, henceforth to be known as the "gecko" book, and the llama book, known by its formal title as: Learning Perl, are due mostly to the environmental differences between UNIX and Windows NT. Either is very good and both are excellent introductory tutorials, the choice is yours. Read on, there is another new carnivore in the zoo, once you have finished with the "gecko," you can start on Advanced Perl Programming.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this smooth, carefully paced course, leading Perl trainers and a Windows NT practitioner teach you to program in the language that promises to emerge as the scripting language of choice on NT. With a foreword by Larry Wall, the creator of Perl, this book is the "official" guide for both formal (classroom) and informal learning. Based on the "llama book," Learning Perl on Win32 Systems features tips for PC users and new, NT-specific examples.

FROM THE CRITICS

Doug Nickerson - ercb.com

Perl is an interpreted language that features powerful (and cool-looking) expressions with generally more than one way to manipulate them. With Perl, you can put arrays on both sides of the equals sign, write terse regular expressions using built-in operators, and structure`data with built-in hashes (or associative lists). Perl is Basic meets C meets APL, with objects and an Algol block structure thrown in. Surely serious use of Perl may be hazardous to your health.

Unlike its sister book Programming Perl, Learning Perl on Win32 Systems, by Randal L. Schwartz, Erik Olson, and Tom Christiansen, presents little danger that you will be overwhelmed by Perl's embarrassment of riches.

Learning Perl on Win32 Systems covers the basics of Perl in O'Reilly's trademark well-organized approach, but how much of Win32 is covered? Until about Chapter 10, I was concerned that Win32 might have been added as an afterthought. (O'Reilly's Learning Perl, the ancestor of this book, also included Randal Schwartz as an author.)

Rather than a complete reference to using Perl with Win32, this is Perl with a Win32 slant. Navigating directories, removing files, and getting system status; all are covered with commentary about what you must do to get these to work in Win32.

And because of Perl's UNIX heritage, frequent reference is made to how UNIX and Windows are different. In Perl, calling native Win32 functions, and many other functionalities not supported in the immediate language, is accomplished via extensions. In this book, examples of using some Win32 functions are in the main text, but comprehensive detail about using Win32 extensions is placed in an appendix.

This approach is fine. Win32 need not play much of a role in learning language basics, and the goal is to learn Perl -- not conquer all of its vagaries.

The tutorial in Chapter One is well thought out and the book includes ample exercises (with exercise solutions in an appendix). Covering as it does the basics of the language and providing an orientation for those programming under Windows, Perl beginners will find this book an excellent introduction to Perl.

Booknews

Based on the second edition of Learning Perl, modified to be applicable to Perl programming on Windows NT systems. Provides a "gentle" (from the preface) introduction (rather than a comprehensive guide), touching on most common operations and language idioms found in Perl programs. Each chapter ends with exercises. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

AUTHOR DESCRIPTION

Randal L. Schwartz is an eclectic tradesman and entrepreneur, making his living through software design, technical writing and training, system administration, security consultation, and video production. He is known internationally for his prolific, humorous, and occasionally incorrect spatterings on Usenet -- especially his "Just another Perl hacker" signoffs in comp.lang.perl.

Randal honed his many crafts through seven years of employment at Tektronix, ServioLogic, and Sequent. Since 1985, he has owned and operated Stonehenge Consulting Services in his home town of Portland, Oregon. Randal is not new to O'Reilly. He is author of Learning Perl and co-author of Programming Perl, which he wrote with Tom Christiansen and Larry Wall, the creator of Perl.

Erik Olson is a renegade linguist who makes a living developing software for Win32 platforms. Since 1994, Erik has been director of advanced technologies for Axiom Technologies, LC, a software outsourcing shop. Erik delivers developer training, system administration, and program/concept development for a number of large-scale horizontal and vertical applications.

Working as a program developer since 1986, Erik has implemented a variety of systems ranging from point-of-sales systems to horizontal PIM products to real-time financial market applications. Although much of his work is done in C++, he has particular interests in interpreted languages and ActiveX scripting. Erik earned a B.A. in linguistics from the University of Utah and pursued graduate studies in Arabic linguistics there and at the University of Washington.

Tom Christiansen is a freelance consultant specializing inPerl training and writing. After working for several years for TSR Hobbies (of Dungeons and Dragons fame), he set off for college where he spent a year in Spain and five in America dabbling in music, linguistics, programming, and some half-dozen spoken languages. Tom finally escaped UW-Madison with B.A.s in Spanish and computer science and an M.S. in computer science.

He then spent five years at Convex as a jack-of-all-trades working on everything from system administration to utility and kernel development, with customer support and training thrown in for good measure. Tom also served two terms on the USENIX Association Board of Directors.