Chapter 12. Perl as a Second Language

“Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see. One chants out between two worlds, fire walk with me!”

—BOB in Twin Peaks

Many people come to Perl after already learning one or more other computer languages. (It is debatable whether Perl is a good choice as a first language for a new computer programmer. In our opinion, it is not, and one should first learn a procedural language such as C and an object-oriented language such as Java if for no other reason than to experience that great relief that comes when you start programming in Perl.) For those of you whose strength lies in one of the languages listed in this chapter, here are tips specifically for you. There is already much good information in this respect in the perltrap manual page; we have not duplicated it here, but urge you to look it up. You will also find Perl: The Programmer's Companion, by Nigel Chapman (Wiley, 1998), to be a good introduction to Perl.