Perl

[Gonusto]

I'd been following some of the other threads that discussed Perl scripting and since I didn't know what either one was, I hit the web and came across a site (http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/98/47/index2a.html) that gave this description  

quote:But before embarking on this mystical quest, make sure you have a few things:

   1. A trusty server capable of handling the monster script you will one day write or, shall I say, compose.
   2. A good monitor. This is important since you'll spend many an hour looking at the tube, and your eyes will bug under the strain of peering at a small or wavy monitor.
   3. A good source of stimulation: Dr. Pepper, Jolt, coffee, whatever. Just make sure you've got a lot of it.
   4. A pack of cigarettes. These will calm your nerves, but the fetching scent will rob you of all sex appeal, allowing you to concentrate fully on writing killer Perl scripts.
   5. Basic food rations. Scripting is best done in short bursts of 24- to 36- hour blocks of time. Leaving to get food is not an option.
   6. A copy of O'Reilly & Associates' Programming Perl and Learning Perl. These are the best references on the market.

 Now this description seems rather daunting and I was simply wondering if it (or any part of it) were true.  What's the opinion from some of you more knowledgable folks?


-Gonusto

[voidmain]

I suggest you just try it.  It will not cost you anything.  That quote can be true for *anything* really.  Perl is certainly not the hardest language to learn, probably one of the easiest.  It certainly is one of the most flexible languages I have learned (there are several ways to do anything in Perl). The nice thing about it is it's one of the most portable languages out there.  Just download Perl for your particular platform (comes with all Linux distros and is usually installed right off on any commercial *NIX).  If you're stuck with Windows I would suggest installing Active Perl: www.activeperl.com

There are some concepts in Perl that can rack your brain (regular expressions).  Perl really is a very cool language and works perfectly as a very powerful scripting language for both Operating System level scripting and web server scripting.

[ February 27, 2002: Message edited by: VoidMain ]

[Gonusto]

Will having a pretty firm knowledge of C++ give me any help in learning Perl?


-Gonusto

[voidmain]

quote:Originally posted by Gonusto:
Will having a pretty firm knowledge of C++ give me any help in learning Perl?


-Gonusto

Probably none whatsoever.  

[dbl221]

Any knowledge of programming will help.........a conditional is a conditional.

Perl is kinda like C and the Unix shell mixed together with AWK.

Enjoy.....and good luck.