Do we really need another Perl book? Obviously yes: This is a book for people who already know how to program in another language, but don't know Perl. A book that gets through the basics as quickly as possible. How to do the fun stuff. A book that emphasizes good programming style in Perl. Many of the Perl programs are written in a quick-and-dirty style; I wanted to see if the style I have developed in other languages can translate. In many Perl books, object-oriented programming is treated as an optional feature for advanced programming. I wanted to bring it closer to the center of focus (although I am anything but an object-oriented bigot). In presenting Perl features, I tried to find examples that are interesting in their own right, and that encourage the reader to explore Perl's features. *** Published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Money raised from the sale of this book supports the development of free software and documentation.
Allen Downey is a Professor of Computer Science at Olin College and a former Visiting Scientist at Google, Inc.
He is the author of Think Stats, Think Python, the How to Think Like a Computer Scientist series (in Java, C++, OCaml, and more), The Little Book of Semaphores, and other computer science books, all available free at greenteapress.com.
Allen is an avid runner, gardener and cook. He ran the Boston Marathon for the first time in 2011, finishing in 3:45.
Allen lives in Needham, MA with his wife, two daughters, and two cats.
