X-Git-Url: http://git.shadowcat.co.uk/gitweb/gitweb.cgi?a=blobdiff_plain;f=pod%2Fperlfaq2.pod;h=918e9369ae7137f05bd7128fcd9c050038e7b083;hb=ae83f3772b2dd371e676035c6714025e89d7e08f;hp=8a954da64e4a8be2f822bcb6343dce4e6a129a94;hpb=46fc3d4c69a0adf236bfcba70daee7fd597cf30d;p=p5sagit%2Fp5-mst-13.2.git diff --git a/pod/perlfaq2.pod b/pod/perlfaq2.pod index 8a954da..918e936 100644 --- a/pod/perlfaq2.pod +++ b/pod/perlfaq2.pod @@ -1,32 +1,35 @@ =head1 NAME -perlfaq2 - Obtaining and Learning about Perl ($Revision: 1.16 $, $Date: 1997/04/23 18:04:09 $) +perlfaq2 - Obtaining and Learning about Perl ($Revision: 1.25 $, $Date: 1998/08/05 11:47:25 $) =head1 DESCRIPTION This section of the FAQ answers questions about where to find -source and documentation for Perl, support and training, and +source and documentation for Perl, support, and related matters. =head2 What machines support Perl? Where do I get it? The standard release of Perl (the one maintained by the perl -development team) is distributed only in source code form. You can -find this at http://www.perl.com/CPAN/src/latest.tar.gz, which is a -gzipped archive in POSIX tar format. This source builds with no -porting whatsoever on most Unix systems (Perl's native environment), -as well as Plan 9, VMS, QNX, OS/2, and the Amiga. - -Although it's rumored that the (imminent) 5.004 release may build -on Windows NT, this is yet to be proven. Binary distributions -for 32-bit Microsoft systems and for Apple systems can be found -http://www.perl.com/CPAN/ports/ directory. Because these are not part of -the standard distribution, they may and in fact do differ from the base -Perl port in a variety of ways. You'll have to check their respective -release notes to see just what the differences are. These differences -can be either positive (e.g. extensions for the features of the particular -platform that are not supported in the source release of perl) or negative -(e.g. might be based upon a less current source release of perl). +development team) is distributed only in source code form. You +can find this at http://www.perl.com/CPAN/src/latest.tar.gz, which +in standard Internet format (a gzipped archive in POSIX tar format). + +Perl builds and runs on a bewildering number of platforms. Virtually +all known and current Unix derivatives are supported (Perl's native +platform), as are proprietary systems like VMS, DOS, OS/2, Windows, +QNX, BeOS, and the Amiga. There are also the beginnings of support +for MPE/iX. + +Binary distributions for some proprietary platforms, including +Apple systems can be found http://www.perl.com/CPAN/ports/ directory. +Because these are not part of the standard distribution, they may +and in fact do differ from the base Perl port in a variety of ways. +You'll have to check their respective release notes to see just +what the differences are. These differences can be either positive +(e.g. extensions for the features of the particular platform that +are not supported in the source release of perl) or negative (e.g. +might be based upon a less current source release of perl). A useful FAQ for Win32 Perl users is http://www.endcontsw.com/people/evangelo/Perl_for_Win32_FAQ.html @@ -118,13 +121,13 @@ Certainly not. Larry expects that he'll be certified before Perl is. =head2 Where can I get information on Perl? -The complete Perl documentation is available with the perl -distribution. If you have perl installed locally, you probably have -the documentation installed as well: type C if you're on a -system resembling Unix. This will lead you to other important man -pages. If you're not on a Unix system, access to the documentation -will be different; for example, it might be only in HTML format. But -all proper perl installations have fully-accessible documentation. +The complete Perl documentation is available with the perl distribution. +If you have perl installed locally, you probably have the documentation +installed as well: type C if you're on a system resembling Unix. +This will lead you to other important man pages, including how to set your +$MANPATH. If you're not on a Unix system, access to the documentation +will be different; for example, it might be only in HTML format. But all +proper perl installations have fully-accessible documentation. You might also try C in case your system doesn't have a proper man command, or it's been misinstalled. If that doesn't @@ -135,10 +138,6 @@ complete documentation in various formats, including native pod, troff, html, and plain text. There's also a web page at http://www.perl.com/perl/info/documentation.html that might help. -It's also worth noting that there's a PDF version of the complete -documentation for perl available in the CPAN/authors/id/BMIDD -directory. - Many good books have been written about Perl -- see the section below for more details. @@ -149,14 +148,18 @@ following groups: comp.lang.perl.announce Moderated announcement group comp.lang.perl.misc Very busy group about Perl in general + comp.lang.perl.moderated Moderated discussion group comp.lang.perl.modules Use and development of Perl modules comp.lang.perl.tk Using Tk (and X) from Perl comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi Writing CGI scripts for the Web. +Actually, the moderated group hasn't passed yet, but we're +keeping our fingers crossed. + There is also USENET gateway to the mailing list used by the crack Perl development team (perl5-porters) at -news://genetics.upenn.edu/perl.porters-gw/ . +news://news.perl.com/perl.porters-gw/ . =head2 Where should I post source code? @@ -166,86 +169,141 @@ cross-post to alt.sources, please make sure it follows their posting standards, including setting the Followup-To header line to NOT include alt.sources; see their FAQ for details. +If you're just looking for software, first use Alta Vista, Deja News, and +search CPAN. This is faster and more productive than just posting +a request. + =head2 Perl Books -A number books on Perl and/or CGI programming are available. A few of +A number of books on Perl and/or CGI programming are available. A few of these are good, some are ok, but many aren't worth your money. Tom Christiansen maintains a list of these books, some with extensive reviews, at http://www.perl.com/perl/critiques/index.html. -The incontestably definitive reference book on Perl, written by the -creator of Perl and his apostles, is now in its second edition and -fourth printing. +The incontestably definitive reference book on Perl, written by +the creator of Perl, is now in its second edition: Programming Perl (the "Camel Book"): Authors: Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, and Randal Schwartz ISBN 1-56592-149-6 (English) ISBN 4-89052-384-7 (Japanese) - (French and German translations in progress) + URL: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/pperl2/ + (French, German, Italian, and Hungarian translations also + available) + +The companion volume to the Camel containing thousands +of real-world examples, mini-tutorials, and complete programs +(first premiering at the 1998 Perl Conference), is: -Note that O'Reilly books are color-coded: turquoise (some would call -it teal) covers indicate perl5 coverage, while magenta (some would -call it pink) covers indicate perl4 only. Check the cover color -before you buy! + The Perl Cookbook (the "Ram Book"): + Authors: Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington, + with Foreword by Larry Wall + ISBN: 1-56592-243-3 + URL: http://perl.oreilly.com/cookbook/ + +If you're already a hard-core systems programmer, then the Camel Book +might suffice for you to learn Perl from. But if you're not, check +out: + + Learning Perl (the "Llama Book"): + Authors: Randal Schwartz and Tom Christiansen + with Foreword by Larry Wall + ISBN: 1-56592-284-0 + URL: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lperl2/ + +Despite the picture at the URL above, the second edition of "Llama +Book" really has a blue cover, and is updated for the 5.004 release +of Perl. Various foreign language editions are available, including +I (the Gecko Book). + +If you're not an accidental programmer, but a more serious and possibly +even degreed computer scientist who doesn't need as much hand-holding as +we try to provide in the Llama or its defurred cousin the Gecko, please +check out the delightful book, I, +written by Nigel Chapman. + +You can order O'Reilly books directly from O'Reilly & Associates, +1-800-998-9938. Local/overseas is 1-707-829-0515. If you can +locate an O'Reilly order form, you can also fax to 1-707-829-0104. +See http://www.ora.com/ on the Web. What follows is a list of the books that the FAQ authors found personally useful. Your mileage may (but, we hope, probably won't) vary. -If you're already a hard-core systems programmer, then the Camel Book -just might suffice for you to learn Perl from. But if you're not, -check out the "Llama Book". It currently doesn't cover perl5, but the -2nd edition is nearly done and should be out by summer 97: +Recommended books on (or muchly on) Perl follow; those marked with +a star may be ordered from O'Reilly. - Learning Perl (the Llama Book): - Author: Randal Schwartz, with intro by Larry Wall - ISBN 1-56592-042-2 (English) - ISBN 4-89502-678-1 (Japanese) - ISBN 2-84177-005-2 (French) - ISBN 3-930673-08-8 (German) +=over -Another stand-out book in the turquoise O'Reilly Perl line is the "Hip -Owls" book. It covers regular expressions inside and out, with quite a -bit devoted exclusively to Perl: +=item References - Mastering Regular Expressions (the Cute Owls Book): - Author: Jeffrey Friedl - ISBN 1-56592-257-3 + *Programming Perl + by Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, and Randal L. Schwartz -You can order any of these books from O'Reilly & Associates, -1-800-998-9938. Local/overseas is 1-707-829-0515. If you can locate -an O'Reilly order form, you can also fax to 1-707-829-0104. See -http://www.ora.com/ on the Web. + *Perl 5 Desktop Reference + By Johan Vromans -Recommended Perl books that are not from O'Reilly are the following: +=item Tutorials + + *Learning Perl [2nd edition] + by Randal L. Schwartz and Tom Christiansen + with foreword by Larry Wall - Cross-Platform Perl, (for Unix and Windows NT) - Author: Eric F. Johnson - ISBN: 1-55851-483-X + *Learning Perl on Win32 Systems + by Randal L. Schwartz, Erik Olson, and Tom Christiansen, + with foreword by Larry Wall - How to Set up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site, (2nd edition) - Author: Lincoln Stein, M.D., Ph.D. - ISBN: 0-201-63462-7 + Perl: The Programmer's Companion + by Nigel Chapman - CGI Programming in C & Perl, - Author: Thomas Boutell - ISBN: 0-201-42219-0 + Cross-Platform Perl + by Eric F. Johnson -Note that some of these address specific application areas (e.g. the -Web) and are not general-purpose programming books. + MacPerl: Power and Ease + by Vicki Brown and Chris Nandor, foreword by Matthias Neeracher -=head2 Perl in Magazines +=item Task-Oriented + + *The Perl Cookbook + by Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington + with foreword by Larry Wall + + Perl5 Interactive Course [2nd edition] + by Jon Orwant + + *Advanced Perl Programming + by Sriram Srinivasan + + Effective Perl Programming + by Joseph Hall + +=item Special Topics -The Perl Journal is the first and only magazine dedicated to Perl. -It is published (on paper, not online) quarterly by Jon Orwant -(orwant@tpj.com), editor. Subscription information is at http://tpj.com -or via email to subscriptions@tpj.com. + *Mastering Regular Expressions + by Jeffrey Friedl -Beyond this, two other magazines that frequently carry high-quality -articles on Perl are Web Techniques (see -http://www.webtechniques.com/) and Unix Review -(http://www.unixreview.com/). Randal Schwartz's Web Technique's -columns are available on the web at -http://www.stonehenge.com/merlyn/WebTechniques/ . + How to Set up and Maintain a World Wide Web Site [2nd edition] + by Lincoln Stein + +=back + +=head2 Perl in Magazines + +The first and only periodical devoted to All Things Perl, I contains tutorials, demonstrations, case studies, +announcements, contests, and much more. TPJ has columns on web +development, databases, Win32 Perl, graphical programming, regular +expressions, and networking, and sponsors the Obfuscated Perl +Contest. It is published quarterly under the gentle hand of its +editor, Jon Orwant. See http://www.tpj.com/ or send mail to +subscriptions@tpj.com. + +Beyond this, magazines that frequently carry high-quality articles +on Perl are I (see http://www.webtechniques.com/), +I (http://www.performance-computing.com/), and Usenix's +newsletter/magazine to its members, I, at http://www.usenix.org/. +Randal's Web Technique's columns are available on the web at +http://www.stonehenge.com/merlyn/WebTechniques/. =head2 Perl on the Net: FTP and WWW Access @@ -260,9 +318,6 @@ following list is I the complete list of CPAN mirrors. http://www.cs.ruu.nl/pub/PERL/CPAN/ ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/ -http:/www.oasis.leo.org/perl/ has, amongst other things, source to -versions 1 through 5 of Perl. - =head2 What mailing lists are there for perl? Most of the major modules (tk, CGI, libwww-perl) have their own @@ -296,13 +351,13 @@ for information on subscribing. =item NTPerl This list is used to discuss issues involving Win32 Perl 5 (Windows NT -and Win95). Subscribe by emailing ListManager@ActiveWare.com with the +and Win95). Subscribe by mailing ListManager@ActiveWare.com with the message body: subscribe Perl-Win32-Users The list software, also written in perl, will automatically determine -your address, and subscribe you automatically. To unsubscribe, email +your address, and subscribe you automatically. To unsubscribe, mail the following in the message body to the same address like so: unsubscribe Perl-Win32-Users @@ -313,7 +368,7 @@ to join or leave this list. =item Perl-Packrats Discussion related to archiving of perl materials, particularly the -Comprehensive PerlArchive Network (CPAN). Subscribe by emailing +Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN). Subscribe by emailing majordomo@cis.ufl.edu: subscribe perl-packrats @@ -345,18 +400,6 @@ very slow to select on 18000 articles. If you have, or know where can be found, the missing sections, please let perlfaq-suggestions@perl.com know. -=head2 Perl Training - -While some large training companies offer their own courses on Perl, -you may prefer to contact individuals near and dear to the heart of -Perl development. Two well-known members of the Perl development team -who offer such things are Tom Christiansen -and Randal Schwartz , plus their -respective minions, who offer a variety of professional tutorials -and seminars on Perl. These courses include large public seminars, -private corporate training, and fly-ins to Colorado and Oregon. -See http://www.perl.com/perl/info/training.html for more details. - =head2 Where can I buy a commercial version of Perl? In a sense, Perl already I commercial software: It has a licence @@ -402,11 +445,13 @@ For more information, contact the The Perl Clinic: Web: http://www.perl.co.uk/ Email: perl-support-info@perl.co.uk or Tim.Bunce@ig.co.uk +See also www.perl.com for updates on training and support. + =head2 Where do I send bug reports? If you are reporting a bug in the perl interpreter or the modules -shipped with perl, use the perlbug program in the perl distribution or -email your report to perlbug@perl.com. +shipped with perl, use the I program in the perl distribution or +mail your report to perlbug@perl.com. If you are posting a bug with a non-standard port (see the answer to "What platforms is Perl available for?"), a binary distribution, or a @@ -414,22 +459,22 @@ non-standard module (such as Tk, CGI, etc), then please see the documentation that came with it to determine the correct place to post bugs. -Read the perlbug man page (perl5.004 or later) for more information. +Read the perlbug(1) man page (perl5.004 or later) for more information. =head2 What is perl.com? perl.org? The Perl Institute? +The perl.com domain is managed by Tom Christiansen, who created it as a +public service long before perl.org came about. Despite the name, it's a +pretty non-commercial site meant to be a clearinghouse for information +about all things Perlian, accepting no paid advertisements, bouncy +happy gifs, or silly java applets on its pages. The Perl Home Page at +http://www.perl.com/ is currently hosted on a T3 line courtesy of Songline +Systems, a software-oriented subsidiary of O'Reilly and Associates. + perl.org is the official vehicle for The Perl Institute. The motto of TPI is "helping people help Perl help people" (or something like that). It's a non-profit organization supporting development, -documentation, and dissemination of perl. Current directors of TPI -include Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, and Randal Schwartz, whom you -may have heard of somewhere else around here. - -The perl.com domain is Tom Christiansen's domain. He created it as a -public service long before perl.org came about. It's the original PBS -of the Perl world, a clearinghouse for information about all things -Perlian, accepting no paid advertisements, glossy gifs, or (gasp!) -java applets on its pages. +documentation, and dissemination of perl. =head2 How do I learn about object-oriented Perl programming? @@ -439,5 +484,16 @@ while L has some excellent tips and tricks. =head1 AUTHOR AND COPYRIGHT -Copyright (c) 1997 Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington. -All rights reserved. See L for distribution information. +Copyright (c) 1997, 1998 Tom Christiansen and Nathan Torkington. +All rights reserved. + +When included as an integrated part of the Standard Distribution +of Perl or of its documentation (printed or otherwise), this works is +covered under Perl's Artistic Licence. For separate distributions of +all or part of this FAQ outside of that, see L. + +Irrespective of its distribution, all code examples here are public +domain. You are permitted and encouraged to use this code and any +derivatives thereof in your own programs for fun or for profit as you +see fit. A simple comment in the code giving credit to the FAQ would +be courteous but is not required.