H
Herb Martin
ptwilliams said:
Perl can be learned USEFULLY in stages.
Just enough to solve a some problems with
only a few lines of code, then later a bit more
on how to use libraries provided by other, etc.
Learning the regular expression syntax usally
presents a steep learning curve but this curve
puts you on a very useful plateau with just a
bit more effort. And the RegExes are generally
applicable to many other tools.
Regexes work similarly in grep, sed, awk,
many programmers' editors and so one. Once
you know the principles then it is easy to adapt
to small rule changes or increased features.
Even the built-in FindStr has the /R switch for
turning on RegEx capability -- meaning you can
benefit even on systems that have no Unix-like
tools. (Random workstations and servers etc.)
If you want help, then let me know.
The two class books are "Learning Perl" (14.75
on Amazon new&used) Programming Perl (18.72
new&used.)
"Learning Perl" is MUCH simpler and in my opinion
"Programming Perl" is MUCH better and an eventual
necessity for almost all Perl programmers.
But if you no nothing of programming then 'Learning'
takes more baby steps.
Another EXCELLENT book as you start to USE Perl
is "Perl Cookbook" which offers working "snippet"
programs and routines that no only solve a multitude
of useful problems but stand as superior examples of
how an expert programmer makes Perl simple yet
amazingly effective.
One of the best things about Perl is that 10 lines of
Perl often does more than 10-100 lines of C or VB.
Fewer lines almost always means faster to program,
easier to understand and test, but most of all FEWER
BUGS.