Rating:  - Good reference, even tho it's a tutorial
I'm not really a tutorial person...tried it, don't like it! I like to jump right in and DO stuff...and then I get stuck! So I turn to the pile of Perl books on the floor beside me for help, and this is one of the ones that always seems to have a clear and simple answer to everyday programming challenges. It's easy to find stuff and clearly written. I often compare its solutions to those found in The Perl Black Book by Steven Holzner and between the two, usually find what I need to go forward. As a beginner Perl programmer, that's all I ask for!
Rating: - This book was all i needed to start programing perl
Unlike Laura Lemay, I'm not one for words. With in 14 days with no previous experience this book had me writing perl scripts. Covers all the basics, easy to follow, ideal for beginners , unlikely to teach experienced programmers anything new. I would recommend this book to anyone new to perl. Does not cover object oriented perl although it states for v5.005.
Rating:  - Workable, but challenging
A key thing to keep in mind in a lot of these "teach yourself" book reviews is what the background is of that reviewer. For anyone WITH a formal or extensive software background, the book will flow easily. For those WITHOUT a structured software background, don't expect to be a programming whiz after this (or to get a lot of the nuances of the language). The book covers PERL, but not how to write good pgms. The book gets into terms and constructs, even early on, that would baffle a newbee. It also greatly disappointed me that the author DOESNT COMMENT THE CODE AS THEY RECOMMEND! Yes, it is explained in the text, but if the code was commented in the examples themselves, it would be a much better book. Web references are helpful (ie code examples are on-line). I would say it is best used by someone already with a software background looking to cross over to PERL. (BTW: workable in doses of 1hr per day/chapter, more if you really want to grasp examples and play with code on-line.)
Rating:  - Excellent reference for years
I bought and used the Teach yourself Perl in 21 days for Perl 4 and found it extremely useful
I am an experienced programmer with C, Pascal and awk, but a few years ago, I was prepared to do a project in Awk and a fellow programmer recommended that I look into Perl, since it was becoming popular on the web.
I picked up "Teach Yourself Perl in 21 Days" and quickly grew attached to the language.
The plusses of the book:
-it's well laid out day by day for people just starting out.
-Someone with a little more experience can skip most of the the first week and get right into the heart of the language.
-It has a useful index. While not perfect, the index lets you get to most everything.
My copy is getting ratty, I've used it so much in the last few years. I think anyone who knows another procedural language who wants to learn perl should get this book.
Rating: - Great book!
Laura Lemay does it again! This book is great if you want to learn Perl from scratch. It's also a great review for those who learned Perl but had forgotten some of the basic concepts. Highly recommended!
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