Product Description
Many programmers code by instinct, relying on convenient habits or a “style” they picked up early on. They aren’t conscious of all the choices they make, like how they format their source, the names they use for variables, or the kinds of loops they use. They’re focused entirely on problems they’re solving, solutions they’re creating, and algorithms they’re implementing. So they write code in the way that seems natural, that happens intuitively, and that feels good.

But if you’re serious about your profession, intuition isn’t enough. Perl Best Practices author Damian Conway explains that rules, conventions, standards, and practices not only help programmers communicate and coordinate with one another, they also provide a reliable framework for thinking about problems, and a common language for expressing solutions. This is especially critical in Perl, because the language is designed to offer many ways to accomplish the same task, and consequently it supports many incompatible dialects.

With a good dose of Aussie humor, Dr. Conway (familiar to many in the Perl community) offers 256 guidelines on the art of coding to help you write better Perl code–in fact, the best Perl code you possibly can. The guidelines cover code layout, naming conventions, choice of data and control structures, program decomposition, interface design and implementation, modularity, object orientation, error handling, testing, and debugging.

They’re designed to work together to produce code that is clear, robust, efficient, maintainable, and concise, but Dr. Conway doesn’t pretend that this is the one true universal and unequivocal set of best practices. Instead, Perl Best Practices offers coherent and widely applicable suggestions based on real-world experience of how code is actually written, rather than on someone’s ivory-tower theories on how software ought to be created. Continue Reading »

Product Description

Product Description

Many programmers code by instinct, relying on convenient habits or a “style” they picked up early on. They aren’t conscious of all the choices they make, like how they format their source, the names they use for variables, or the kinds of loops they use. They’re focused entirely on problems they’re solving, solutions they’re creating, and algorithms they’re implementing. So they write code in the way that seems natural, that happens intuitively, and that feels good.

But if you’re serious about your profession, intuition isn’t enough. Perl Best Practices author Damian Conway explains that rules, conventions, standards, and practices not only help programmers communicate and coordinate with one another, they also provide a reliable framework for thinking about problems, and a common language for expressing solutions. This is especially critical in Perl, because the language is designed to offer many ways to accomplish the same task, and consequently it supports many incompatible dialects.

With a good dose of Aussie humor, Dr. Conway (familiar to many in the Perl community) offers 256 guidelines on the art of coding to help you write better Perl code–in fact, the best Perl code you possibly can. The guidelines cover code layout, naming conventions, choice of data and control structures, program decomposition, interface design and implementation, modularity, object orientation, error handling, testing, and debugging. Continue Reading »

Product Description

Product Description
Perl by Example, Fourth Edition, is the easiest, most hands-on way to learn Perl. Legendary Silicon Valley programming instructor Ellie Quigley has thoroughly updated her classic to deliver the skills and information today’s Perl users need most–including all-new coverage of MySQL database programming and a Perl QuickStart designed to get experienced users up and running fast.

Quigley illuminates every technique with focused, classroom-tested code examples, detailed line-by-line explanations, and real program output. This exceptionally clear, easy-to-understand book takes you from your first Perl script to database-driven applications. It’s the only Perl book you’ll ever need!

New in this edition:
* Perl programming QuickStart: makes first-time Perl programmers productive in just twenty pages
* All-new chapter on using the Perl DBI with the MySQL database–plus an easy SQL primer to quickly get you started programming any database
* New introductions to Perl in biology (bioinformatics) and to mod_perl, a Perl interpreter embedded in the Apache server, which allows you to create fast, dynamic content; manage the Apache server; authenticate users; and much more
Continue Reading »