Customer Reviews

Perl 5 Programmer's Interactive Workbook (Interactive Workbook (Prentice Hall))

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First let me say that this is a really good book for beginners. I have learned quite a lot during the course of reading this book and have gone from completely clueless to relatively knowledgeable on the subject matter. Mr. Lowe (unlike other authors) has the ability to stay on the level of the target audience rather than throwing in new and confusing concepts without preparing his readers. I applaud his work and will continue to look for more titles bearing his name.

However, on the cover the publishers tout an interactive web site to help you with the learning process. I have used other interactive course books with much success but the Prentice-Hall "Interactive Perl Training" web site is a farce because there isn't much information there that was noted in the book. Although you'll find what you need throughout the Internet by doing some searching, the publishers should probably have this information on their site for you since they appear to be so proud of their "web-charged learning system".

Aside from this complaint, I am very happy to have gotten this book but will have to think twice before getting anything from Prentice-Hall again. My guess is that marketing got a hold of this book thinking that it needed an edge when it didn't need anything but the truth on the cover or better web designers.

I used this book as the text for a Perl class. While it seems, at first glance, to be set up well to learn Perl (exercises, sample files, etc.), it is actually a very poorly-written text. Lowe routinely alludes to concepts and says "More about that later," making it extremely difficult to learn about single concepts in their entirety. He will also use code to which he has referred briefly or not at all. The index is no help whatsoever; invariably, if you can even find the term you look up, the pages listed in the index only have passing references to the term.

For my money, Sams _Teach Yourself Perl in 24 Hours_ is a far superior book.

This book has many virtues. It is very clear an assumes no prior knowledge, for one. Also, Lowe makes his text useful to both Windows and *nix idioms. For most every function and piece of syntax that Lowe introduces, he provides a useful exercise for the reader, to help solidify his/her understanding (thus the 'workbook' in the title). The 'answers' that he provides come with good explanations and are quite clear.

Since I bought this book used, it was not "Web Charged." In fact the page does not exist at all. I did not find this to be very disadvantageous, though, as the exercises in the text were adequate.

Keep in mind that this is not a reference book. As I was working through it, which at 600 pages or so took a few months, I would often need to go back and review something that I had learned. And while Lowe's explanations are very clear , they are not exhaustive, and "The Camel" (Perl Programming, 3rd ed, by Larry Wall et al) makes an excellent reference companion to anyone serious about learning perl.

If you want to dish out the extra cash, and need whimsical stories about Gilligan and Mary-Anne, then you should probably get the OReilly "Learning Perl" book instead of this one. But Lowe's Interactive Workbook is no joke, and if you do the exercises and invest in it it won't let you down. And you can't beat the price.

This book is my first contact with PERL and it is an enchanting experience! Full of wonder...