Perl: Annotated Archives [Paperback]

Martin C. Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 1999 | Series: Annotated Archives

"Perl Annotated Archives" provides fully working examples that derive from the Web and the author's own vast code library, contains descriptions of how the programmer tackled problems in line-by-line detail. and has a variety of programs provided. The CD-ROM contains all the code and applications from the book in a simple chapter-by-chapter directory structure.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Packed with ready-to-run Code and Expert Advice for Perl Programmers. This is the most innovative Perl programming tool ever created. Create extensible programs by dynamic Web applications with this exceptional collection of annotated, reusable Perl code. Perl Annotated Archives is packed with ready-to-run code for Windows, Unix, Mac, and Web applications along with line-by-line explanations. Use the power and flexibility of Perl to carry out hundreds of functions easily--process and report on text files, write clients and servers within a single application, dynamically create HTML, secure your Web site, manage an entire network from a single point, and much more. Complete with a CD-ROM containing all of the book's source code and applications, this one-of-a-kind collection is a programmer's reference and how-to-manual in a single convenient volume.

About the Author

Martin C Brown has 15 years of multi-platform programming experience in Perl, Shellscript, Basic, Pascal, C/C++, Java, JavaScript, VBScript, and Awk.

Product Details

• Paperback: 798 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill Osborne Media (January 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0078825571
• ISBN-13: 978-0078825576
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,968,150 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good "Book no. 2" for those just beginning to learn Perl., June 7, 1999

By 

Jón Ragnarsson ([e-mail]) (Reykjavík, Iceland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Perl: Annotated Archives (Paperback)

This book approaches Perl from a different angle than any other I've read. Instead of teaching the basics, it shows the reader how to use Perl effectively to solve day-to-day problems. Processing web logs, file handling, generating reports from text files and databases, sending and receiving mail, building dynamic web pages, extracting HTML and administrating network. These are just few of the subject this books touches. It also shows the reader how using CPAN archives can save much time (and frustration). Old timers will probably not find anything they didn't already know, but less experienced system administrator will find this book a good help and a time saver. I would also recommend this to anyone wanting to know "how to use Perl" as opposed "how to write Perl".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential book for all Perl users and teachers, January 13, 2000

By 

Jacek Artymiak (Lublin, Poland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Perl: Annotated Archives (Paperback)

There are many ways to learn a programming language but only a few yield positive results. One of the most effective solutions is to learn how to use a particular language to solve real-world problems, and this is precisely the approach that Martin C. Brown chose to help the reader of his excellent Perl Annotated Archives book learn the language that powers hundreds of thousands of Internet and intranet servers around the world. Instead of a series of dry lessons found in many Perl textbooks, with Perl AA you can start writing and experimenting with the source code right after you open this book. This makes it an ideal book for both teachers of the Perl programming language and for their students who want to see how theory they learn works in practice.

Perl is not an easy language to learn and the lack of commented code samples is what discourages a lot of people from learning it. Martin C. Brown does an excellent job of teaching not only how to write useful applications but also how to keep your code simple, clean and easy to maintain which is no mean feat considering how easy it is to write cryptic code in Perl. So, the first star is for what's between the covers.

I'm sure that many people who tried to learn a programming language from a book will agree that it is not enough to just dump the best ideas and code onto paper--they must be presented in a way that helps the reader to quickly find any little bit of information he/she needs. I found nothing to complain about in that department and I agree with my students who often praise this book for its ease of use and the ease of access to the information contained inside it. The second star is therefore for the presentation of the material.

How about the accuracy of the text and the source code? Well, it is *very* high and does not contain any serious errors. This has been confirmed by my students who have been using this book for the last six months and found very little errors or omissions. Those that were spotted are not fatal and can be quite easily fixed by the readers themselves. That's why the third star is for the accuracy of the material.

The fourth star is for the CD-ROM disc sold with the book. Although the CD-ROM disc is an almost essential companion to a computer book, it rarely is utilized in a way that justifies it's additional cost. However, what I found on the disc sold with Perl AA made me very happy. I love it when I can copy, paste and customize *full* source code and not only short examples. You can use it as a source of ready-made solutions and a great learning/teaching tool.

The last, fifth star is for Martin C. Brown's reader support. His Web site is a treasure chest for those who are looking for free code (Martin makes tons of code available for free), updates or error corrections (not that Martin makes a lot of mistakes he needs to correct). Rarely you will find an author who offers such support and that's something you should consider if you expect more from an author.

In short, Perl AA is an excellent book for those who learn, teach and use Perl in real world. This book is a safe investment with a very *high* return.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Martin++ !, February 1, 2000

By 

P. Allen (DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Perl: Annotated Archives (Paperback)

There's something wonderful about a book that doesn't sit on a shelf for any period of time. It becomes dog-eared from use and its layout and content becomes familiar. Martin Brown's Perl and Python Annotated Archives are two such books in my personal collection. I find myself constantly switching between computer languages and with books like these, it's a snap to become productive very quickly. Other reviews here have covered the fine examples in the AA books but what struck me the most was that Martin doesn't overly rely on modules from CPAN to illustrate his point. Some have likened CPAN's contents to being 'software integrated circuits' -- something you just plug and and use. This is great for people who don't care about the details and have a but if you want to learn how things really work, this book's example code is where it's at. Of course he's no dummy and liberally uses things like Getopt in the right amounts.

If you build Web solutions and only have time to absorb one chapter, read and understand the CGI security chapter. My personal favorite has to be either the entries on databases or the cross platform systems administration section. Too many Perl books concentrate on Unix and don't acknowledge other OSes. I think 'macfbf.pl' might be the first code example for the Macintosh I've seen in a Perl book!

There's a lot for Perl newbies and old dogs to learn from this book and it's well worth the effort to glean something from every chapter.

Martin is one of the most interactive authors I've ever dealt with and always responds to emailed suggestions, questions and constructive criticism with a professional yet friendly tone. He's been quick to point out the very rare typographic mistakes and updates his Web site's errata section quickly. That alone makes his books worth having!