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CGI / Perl  Resources

Perl a very easy language to learn because of it's script nature. In addition, because Perl scripts are ASCII text files, you can look at the code of the scripts you use to determine how things are done. The Messin' Around With Perl section of the "How Do I CGI?" page shows you the few simple things you need to know in order to look over and figure out most Perl scripts.

Here are some helpful Websites and good books that can help get you programming in Perl in a very short time. This is a skill that will become even more valuable as one report estimates the number of Linux servers will double in a little over two years.

Helpful Web Sites

•   CGI City   at   icthus.net/CGI-City
  
  
  
•   CGI Extremes   at   www.cgiextremes.com
  
  
  
•   Perl Archive   at   www.perlarchive.com
  
  
  
•   CGI Resources   at   cgi.resourceindex.com
  
  
  
•   Big Nose Bird   at   www.bignosebird.com
  
  
  
• Digitmania   at   www.digitmania.holowww.com     (No CGI but LOADS of counter digits)
  
  
  

Good Books

Of all the books I've bought on Perl (almost ten of them) the following three are the most valuable and useful. They are excellent as either tutorials or in their completeness in their coverage of the subject. Clicking on a book's cover will take you to Amazon's "detail" page where you can read an overview of the book and comments posted by those who have purchased it.

The comments next to the book covers are my own and they are my honest opinions, not a sales pitch.

More info...	The best book out there for beginners, including those who don't know a lot about programming. Perl for Dummies comes with a CD that includes sample code and a copy of Perl-Win32 that you can use on your Windows-based system to test your scripts. The book covers using the Perl-Win32 software also. It doesn't get into the real fancy Perl functions but that's not its' goal. It's an "easy read" that will have you coding in no time.
More info...	If you're an experienced programmer this may be a good starting point for you. Mastering Perl is very comprehensive in it's coverage of Perl, addressing functions that the "Dummies" book doesn't get to. The information is presented in a very easy-to-understand manner and doesn't assume you have a UNIX background. (A lot of the more advanced books do.) Part VI of the book (four chapters) is dedicated to Perl/CGI on Windows NT servers. They also cover Blat and Sendmail for Windows.
More info...	I wish every programming language had a book like this. Effective Perl Programming is a unique work that will make a Perl programmer a good Perl programmer. It's a compilation of "items" that one usually only finds out with many years of experience. He also covers not only using modules, but how to write them as well. It's not a ground-floor tutorial like the "Dummies" book, but if you're going to learn Perl, you might as well learn to do it right. This should definitely be the second Perl book you read.
	If you're going to Amazon to shop for something other than the above titles, please use this link to go there.