Advanced Perl Programming
Author: Sriram Srinivasan
Price: $27.95
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates
With the popularity Perl has achieved due to its widespread use in CGI applications, it has created a large number of Perl programmers in the process. Most of these programmers have not learned some of the greater things about Perl, and likely are still using some of the more primitive programming techniques. That is where this book comes in. Advanced Perl Programming, as the title states, is not for the beginner. Once you've mastered basic to intermediate levels of Perl, this is a must-get. The author, Sriram Srinivasan, presents to us topics such as object-oriented programming (oo), databases, complex data structures, advanced syntax, networking, user interfaces and interaction with the C language. Not only are the topics introduced, but they are also explained with great detail, allowing you to write efficient code that you understand. Add in the large number of examples, and you have a gem of a book.
Some might wonder how this book might help them in the future, as not everyone is trying to nest databases in their applications, write networking software or even do some oo programming. Let alone put the Perl interpreter into their C applications (if they even know C). Well, it will help you, as a lot of background information is given in the process. Since knowledge is one of the Programmers best weapon, it is a good addition to your arsenal. Sriram not only teaches you some advanced Perl, but he also puts it into the large scheme of things, which teaches you more in the process.
Some complaints from readers include errors in examples (specifically the Perl/tk section), and the usefulness of some of the advanced features discussed. I do realize people look at the usefulness face-value, as how it will help them at that moment. As discussed earlier though, the features give you knowledge, which helps you code better in the future.
The following is a synopsis of each of the main topics found in the book;
This topic is one of the most important parts of the book (in my opinion anyway). Some of the things you didn't know Perl could do are discussed, such as building Perl code on the fly! Efficiency is another big part of this topic, as we all need our programs to run quickly without tying up our system resources. After reading this section, you will be ready to create powerful Perl applications
The buzz-word of the programming world. Object-Oriented (OO) programming is possible in Perl 5, and this section tells you how. Of course, some ever-important background information on OO design is given beforehand, further stocking your brain with the ability to pump out some killer apps.
Persistence according to Sriram is one of the most important technologies. We all have to agree with him, as persistence is the basis of how a database functions (persistent data), and databases are a multi-billion dollar industry. Some issues brought alone with persistence are discussed, and the section moves along to more complex databasing issues. Once you master databasing with your Perl apps, you can probably hike your programming hourly wage about 25% (at least).
Since Perl is most prevalent with it's use on the Internet, it should come to no surprise for you that it has networking capabilities. This is the second most important technology discussed in the book, says Sriram of course. The standard background information at the beginning primes you for your upcoming lessons on the Socket API, clients, servers and IO objects. Don't know what I was talking about? Read the book.
Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are just plain cool. They make all our lives easier, and make operations simpler to do. What does this have to do with Perl? Well, using the popular Tk toolkit, you can mix Perl with these GUIs (from now on, we will call this Perl/Tk). An introduction to GUIs and Perl/Tk is given at the start, and you progress through examples of GUI use (Tetris!!!), events, and whatnot. At the end of the book you will find a Tk Widget Reference for your convenience.
This should not be a surprise, as all Perl users have visited CPAN before you download some cool Perl modules that make their coding lives easier. What is usually not explained though is how to write these modules, or better yet, how to do this with C. Here you can learn the steps you need to take to bind your C applications with Perl. Also, did you know you could embed a copy of the Perl interpreter right in your C applications? It even works vice versa. Using C with Perl in the same application gives you a taste of the best of both worlds, helping you build your powerful applications.
All in all, for $27.95, this book is pretty good deal for what it offers you. If you like what you have heard about it, I recommend you purchase it. Don't expect straight-forward solutions like those offered in the Perl Cookbook (link to book here) though, as those don't even let you to think the solution out. Advanced Perl Programming gives you the tools to accomplish what you want, the explanations you need, but you still have to think for yourself.