Customer Reviews

Special Edition Using Perl 5 for Web Programming

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

 

 

When I bought this book, I had absolutely no serious programming background. I was pretty accomplished in HTML, but nothing advanced. At first, the book was a bit hard. But the technique that I found helpful is to re-read each section (or each topic). I haven't even looked on the CD yet, and I'm learning loads about Perl. Also, reading this book really helps one understand some more advanced Perl tutorials on the web. It doesn't get 5 stars though, because the reader has to really be committed. This isn't a light read: get in the thinking mood when you read it.

This book had the potential to be very good and I did learn some things from it, but many of the example results lacked the source code that generated the results. In addition, much of the source code that was in the book was not on the included CD.

QUE must have pushed this book into print. As other reviewers have noted, one has to have dogged determination and stamina to digest this book. It presents a confusing, unrelated and diverse array of "my pet way do it" by several authors. The examples on the CD are pathetic - all lumped into one directory, no readme file(s), incomplete and therefore not runnable as-is. Example: to extract the files related to Ch 9 required sifting through the entire chapter, and then register.htm and its CGI backend were conspicuously missing. However, after bludgeoning my way through most of the book, I have extracted a small number of gems that are actually useful in real-life projects. The CD contains this whole book plus two others in HTML format. A nice idea, but each one is disorganized by a totally different team of people. There is no unified 'look-n-feel' and navigation is painful in all three books. Good as a reference, shop for it 2nd hand (and pay only what it is worth).

I've read at least 6 books on perl, but if you want to specifically learn perl for websites, then this book is very good. It talks about databases (DBMs and SQL). Managing sessions and validating users, and it also talks about creating a shopping cart system. There is a chapter on CGI sercurity. Although the book was written in 1996 its a very good step in the right direction of making good, reliable CGI applications. In fact, compared to other CGI books printed in 96, this book is years ahead of them.

Regardless if you are just getting into Perl and CGI, or if you've been at it for years, this book is for you. I originally used it as a "how to", and have since moved up to the more advanced topics in Perl. It provided me with all of the building blocks I needed for a secure foundation in the language...and it still has a prized place in my reference library! Its (very complete) listing of Perl functions and their syntax is unbeatable. I refer to it constantly, and have never been left hanging. Nice job QUE, you've turned out another great one!

The real book title is the one showed on the cover picture: "Using Perl 5 for Web Programming", and the authors are: David Harlan, Shelley Powers, Paul Doyle, and Mícheál Ó Fóghlú. The book is directed to the development of web applications such as form processing, authentication and site administration. It's *not* an introductory book.

the fisrt chapters are clear, then the book starts to use strange statements and never explained so i didn't read it all I have thrown it in the garbage...

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