Contents

* Introduction to Perl
* Numeric and String Literals
* Variables
* Arrays
* Operators
* Perl Statements
* Functions
* References
* Files -- Input and Output in Perl
* Regular Expressions
* Reports
* Special Variables
* Handling Errors and Signals
* Objects in Perl
* Perl Modules
* Debugging Perl
* Perl Command-Line Options
* Networking with Perl
* CGI Programming in Perl
* The Other Side of CGI:Input -- HTML Forms
* Some Example Perl CGI Scripts

Of course, if your job is programming, you can get your job done with any "complete" computer language, theoretically speaking. But we know from experience that computer languages differ not so much in what they make possible, but in what they make easy. At one extreme, the so-called fourth-generation languages make it easy to do some things, but nearly impossible to do other things. At the other extreme, so-called industrial-strength languages make it equally difficult to do almost everything.

*  I want a book for people who already know how to program in another language, but don't know Perl.

* I want a book that gets through the basics as quickly as possible. I'm sick of reading about the precedence of operators; I want to know how to do the fun stuff.

* I want a book that emphasizes good programming style in Perl. Many of the Perl programs I have seen are written in a quick-and-dirty style; I wanted to see if the style I have developed in other languages can translate.

This book is about a marriage of two compatible yet unlikely partners. Extreme Programming (XP) is a software development methodology that enables users, business people, programmers, and computers to communicate effectively. Perl is a dynamic programming language that lets an XP team embrace the inevitable change caused by effective communication. Perl is the fixer and doer of the pair, and XP is the organizer and facilitator. Together they help you build robust software applications efficiently.

This book assumes that the reader is familiar with Perl at an intermediate level and that common Perl idioms don't stop you in your tracks. While you need not have written your own modules previously, familiarity with Perl's object-oriented syntax will be helpful.

Perl is a well-established programming language that has been developed through the time and effort of countless free software programmers into an immensely powerful tool that can be used on pratically every operating system in the world. Perl started out as the "Swiss army knife" of computer languages and was used primarily by system administrators, but over time it's grown into an immensely robust language used by web-developers and programmers worldwide. It's also a great way to learn programming techniques and develop your own style of coding.