X-Git-Url: http://git.shadowcat.co.uk/gitweb/gitweb.cgi?a=blobdiff_plain;f=pod%2Fperlfaq2.pod;h=c743a0efc868c3a1732e5045bba480ba3dc528d9;hb=92c2ed055315fc5be2c58f97c40236945f31f32e;hp=7fa34d9c275f77253e50feacc776ce10ace08e94;hpb=3fe9a6f19eb206c685bd7389e54e2838fdfd04b7;p=p5sagit%2Fp5-mst-13.2.git diff --git a/pod/perlfaq2.pod b/pod/perlfaq2.pod index 7fa34d9..c743a0e 100644 --- a/pod/perlfaq2.pod +++ b/pod/perlfaq2.pod @@ -1,11 +1,11 @@ =head1 NAME -perlfaq2 - Obtaining and Learning about Perl ($Revision: 1.15 $, $Date: 1997/03/25 18:15:48 $) +perlfaq2 - Obtaining and Learning about Perl ($Revision: 1.24 $, $Date: 1998/07/20 23:40:28 $) =head1 DESCRIPTION This section of the FAQ answers questions about where to find -source and documentation for Perl, support and training, and +source and documentation for Perl, support, and related matters. =head2 What machines support Perl? Where do I get it? @@ -118,13 +118,13 @@ Certainly not. Larry expects that he'll be certified before Perl is. =head2 Where can I get information on Perl? -The complete Perl documentation is available with the perl -distribution. If you have perl installed locally, you probably have -the documentation installed as well: type C if you're on a -system resembling Unix. This will lead you to other important man -pages. If you're not on a Unix system, access to the documentation -will be different; for example, it might be only in HTML format. But -all proper perl installations have fully-accessible documentation. +The complete Perl documentation is available with the perl distribution. +If you have perl installed locally, you probably have the documentation +installed as well: type C if you're on a system resembling Unix. +This will lead you to other important man pages, including how to set your +$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 +135,6 @@ 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 +145,18 @@ 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? @@ -166,9 +166,13 @@ 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. @@ -181,71 +185,104 @@ fourth printing. 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) + (French, German, and Italian translations also available) 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! +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 I by Randal and Tom. The second edition of "Llama +Book" has a blue cover, and is updated for the 5.004 release of Perl. + +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 are the following. +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 - 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 by 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 @@ -260,6 +297,9 @@ 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 @@ -293,13 +333,13 @@ 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 @@ -310,7 +350,7 @@ 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 @@ -342,18 +382,6 @@ 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 @@ -402,8 +430,8 @@ For more information, contact the The Perl Clinic: =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 @@ -411,10 +439,18 @@ 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 Tom Christiansen's domain. He 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, @@ -422,12 +458,6 @@ 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. - =head2 How do I learn about object-oriented Perl programming? L (distributed with 5.004 or later) is a good place to start. @@ -436,5 +466,16 @@ 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.