Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good for CGI in Perl, weak on other languages, August 9, 2000
The real title of this book should be Sams Teach Yourself CGI Programming in Perl in 24 Hours. While all the fundamental principles of CGI are covered, nearly all the programming is done in Perl. Granted that Perl is used extensively to create such programs, it is not the only language used and there should have been more coverage of the other languages. Only one fourteen page hour is devoted to other languages used to write CGI programs. Even then, the treatment is almost exclusively C and Python. Other than this, the coverage is about as thorough as one can get in the format allowed by this series. The basics of interacting with databases is covered in an example of creating a shopping cart for online purchasing. Critical points of interest such as security and the creation of sensible, helpful error messages are also covered. Given the realities of the e-commerce world, some mention of security should be in every book about web programming. Nothing is more frustrating than attempting to access a page and receiving only the infamous 404 Not Found Error. A delayed redirection is annoying but tolerable. However, nothing more than the 404 error reaches the level of, "I ain't ever coming back here" frustration. The very valuable use of server side includes is also part of the coverage. If you are someone with a need to learn CGI programming using Perl, then this book deserves four stars. However, if your interest is in CGI programming in another language, then the value drops to a three, because to use the book, nontrivial knowledge of Perl is a necessity.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I am impressed, November 4, 2001
By A Customer
The content of the book impressed me. Prior to reading the book, I had taught myself Perl programming, and had learned the basics of forms processing. I didn't understand some of CGI jargon I came across in more than one Perl book that glossed over CGI in a single chapter somewhere toward the back of the book. But this book on CGI programming gave me all the information I needed to feel like a CGI pro, someone who could keep his cool in any discussion where "CGI" was spoken. Some of the information in this book is worth writing down, so you can remember the clear understanding that reading the book gave you, and so you can regurgitate that understanding to other people later, say after months of no complex CGI programming. This book offers enough explanation to make you see things from a webmaster's perspective, but also a UNIX programmer's perspective. Without more than a basic idea of how the UNIX command-line works. I will confess that if you don't know Perl, I don't think you'd have the same reaction I did. But CGI books shouldn't have to teach you Perl, and at the same time, Perl is THE language for CGI programming. The "brief" coverage that this book gives to other CGI languages is not meant to underplay their relative importance, but rather to give Perl the attention that it's due. Also, realize that PHP is not a CGI language, and I wouldn't classify JSP as one, either, so you definitely won't find mention of them in Rafe's book as anything other than alternatives to CGI. So learn some Perl, say from the new "Beginning Perl" book from OReilly, and then get Rafe's book, to learn CGI. "Teach Yourself CGI in 24 Hours" is worth buying and studying.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Start for a Perl Beginning, September 20, 2001
By A Customer
Dear Mr. Rafe Colburn: Buddy! Just thought I had better write you to THANK you for your book, 'Sams Teach Yourself CGI in 24 Hours". I bought the book last Christmas, and though progress is slow, things are sinking in GOOD! I just wrapped my head around Hour 15, Session (State) Management, and cookies. Your book is extremely well laid out, easy to understand, and there hasn't been an exercise in your book that I haven't been able to complete yet! The exercises are challenging and fun yet possible with your book. Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have found it to be an OUTSTANDING resource for myself, a beginner in the PERL programming language.
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