Advanced Perl Programming (Paperback)

by Simon Cozens (Author)
Key Phrases: sub import, sub hello, use overload, Template Toolkit, Unicode Standard, Clap Hands (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
With a worldwide community of users and more than a million dedicated programmers, Perl has proven to be the most effective language for the latest trends in computing and business. Every programmer must keep up with the latest tools and techniques. This updated version of Advanced Perl Programming from O'Reilly gives you the essential knowledge of the modern Perl programmer. Whatever your current level of Perl expertise, this book will help you push your skills to the next level and become a more accomplished programmer. O'Reilly's most high-level Perl tutorial to date, Advanced Perl Programming, Second Edition teaches you all the complex techniques for production-ready Perl programs. This completely updated guide clearly explains concepts such as introspection, overriding built-ins, extending Perl's object-oriented model, and testing your code for greater stability. Other topics include:

• Complex data structures
• Parsing
• Templating toolkits
• Working with natural language data
• Unicode
• Interaction with C and other languages

In addition, this guide demystifies once complex topics like object-relational mapping and event-based development-arming you with everything you need to completely upgrade your skills. Praise for the Second Edition: "Sometimes the biggest hurdle to problem solving isn't the subject itself but rather the sheer number of modules Perl provides. Advanced Perl Programming walks you through Perl's TMTOWTDI ("There's More Than One Way To Do It") forest, explaining and comparing the best modules for each task so you can intelligently apply them in a variety of situations." --Rocco Caputo, lead developer of POE "It has been said that sufficiently advanced Perl code is indistinguishable from magic. This book of spells goes a long way to unlocking those secrets. It has the power to transform the most humble programmer into a Perl wizard." --Andy Wardley "The information here isn't theoretical. It presents tools and techniques for solving real problems cleanly and elegantly." --Curtis 'Ovid' Poe " Advanced Perl Programming collects hard-earned knowledge from some of the best programmers in the Perl community, and explains it in a way that even novices can apply immediately." --chromatic, Editor of Perl.com

About the Author
Simon Cozens is an Open Source programmer and author. He has released over a hundred Perl modules including Email::Simple, Mail::Audit, Maypole, Plucene, and B::Generate. He's the co-author of Beginning Perl (Wrox) and Extending and Embedding Perl (Manning) and was the managing editor of Perl.com from 2001 to 2004. A graduate in Japanese from Oxford University, he now lives in Wales and enjoys Japanese and Greek food, bizarre music and fine typography.

Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; 2 edition (May 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596004567
• ISBN-13: 978-0596004569
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #241,365 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing, February 3, 2007

By	David DelGreco (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book was slated to come out for a long time before it actually did, and I naturally assumed that Simon was working on something ambitious and that it was taking him longer than he planned. I bought it sight-unseen, but quickly discovered it was more of a tour of CPAN than an in-depth book deserving of the title Advanced Perl Programming. I know from his blog that Simon was wrapping up his life to go be a missionary in Japan, so now I think the book was late because he was working on *that* project after he had agreed to write this book. Just speculation.

It reads more like an article on Perl.com or in the Perl Journal, and could easily have been several articles spread out over a few months. I have to wonder if he started the book with the idea that "advanced" means "knowing about useful modules on CPAN" or if the idea came to him sometime after it was clear the book was running late.

Regardless, consider looking at it if you see it in the store. It's not without its value, but I can't see paying for a book that mostly says, "Here's someone else's work to check out." An advanced book ought to be getting into -- well -- advanced techniques, useful info that's hard to come by, something that isn't ALREADY AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All new second edition, July 20, 2005

By	Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Frankly I'm not sure why this is a second edition. It's a completely new book. Where the original book was more of an advanced language features book, this book is much more focused on module use. Neither of which is bad. Perl's CPAN library is one of the features that make the language so attractive. So an entire book dedicated to that is really helpful. And the excellent writing and illustrations help as well.

I recommend both books. If you can get a copy of the first edition on Alibris get that. But don't hesitate getting this book if you are a Perl fan.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Second Edition"? Should be "Volume 2"!, December 2, 2005

By	Steve Vance (San Rafael, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Review: Advanced Perl Programming

The First Edition of this book is one of my favorite books. For an example of why, it explained anonymous structures clearer than anyplace else I had seen. I have re-read it several times, learning something new with each reading. If you have gotten through "Learning Perl", and want to become an advanced Perl programmer, get yourself a copy of the First Edition.

Why is this book is the "Second Edition" of anything? It bears no resemblance at all to the First Edition. It has a different author, which is the first red flag. Looking inside, we find that all the chapters have different titles, and there is no topic discussed in one book that is discussed in the other. Most of what is in the First Edition is still valid Perl, and important information for a Perl programmer to know. Within a few minutes of learning this Second Edition had been published, I ordered it, based on my love of the First Edition. If I had spent any time looking through it, I probably wouldn't have bought it.

This book covers advanced Perl constructs and topics, but those much less useful to the average "another Perl hacker". It is interesting to know some of the stuff in the 2E, perhaps from an academic perspective, but there is none of the, "Wow, I'm going to use this every day" feeling that I got with the 1E.

To be fair, this book is well written, and clearly explains some things I've "always wondered about". There are several topics covered that I wish had been covered in more depth. For example, there is exactly one sentence about Inline::Java. But, I am glad that I bought it, and will put it on my shelf next to the First Edition. In thinking about it, I would say that this book should have been called, "Advanced Perl Programming, Volume 2" (with two panthers on the front?) Meanwhile, it is true that Sriram's First Edition could use some updating. After Perl 6 is released?