Title "Sams Teach Yourself Perl in 24 hours" Authors Clinton Pierce Publisher Sams Publishing Publication Date November 1999 ISBN 0-672-31773-7 Price $24.99 (U.S.) Pros All concepts explained clearly and concisely. Comes with source code CD-ROM. Cons Not exhaustive. You'll definitely need other sources of information if you're serious about Perl.. Verdict Highly recommended for those just starting out.

Perl originated as a Unix language, so a lot of the available reference material for Perl is aimed towards Unix users. "Sams Teach Yourself Perl in 24 Hours" is one of the few references that points out the differences between how things are done in UNIX and how things are done in Windows, catering its lessons toward both users.

Author Clinton Pierce does an excellent job of explaining how Perl works. Source code illustrates every new technique taught, making it easy to see how everything fits together. Throughout the book you’ll find plenty of exercises to put your newfound knowledge to good use, including how to create a CGI script for sending e-mail, how to create complicated on-line forms and surveys, an introduction on making your Web site interactive, and even a chapter on how to create and use cookies. You can create your first Perl program in the first hour, then at the end of almost every chapter. As you work through the chapters you will find yourself writing programs that are really quite invaluable.

The companion CD provides everything you'll need to get started. It contains Perl, and extra modules for Windows, Unix and Macs as well as copies of Apache Web Server for Windows and Unix/Linux. All the source code included in the book is also on the CD, so if you're feeling particularly lazy you won’t even need to type out the exercises yourself.

You're not going to learn everything in the book in 24 hours (as has been the case with most of the Sams Teach Yourself in 24 hours series), so don't take the title literally. It takes a little longer, but it's worth your time. There are very few other titles around that take you from a Perl novice, or indeed even a programming novice, and leave you with such a great understanding and appreciation of the language. You won’t know all there is to know by any means, but you’ll be in an excellent position to build on what you’ve learned and go on to some of the more advanced books.

If you're interested in learning Perl and looking for a starting point then I highly recommend "Sams Teach Yourself Perl in 24 Hours." All the concepts are explained clearly and concisely. And while it doesn’t cover everything, it does give you a solid knowledge base to build on.

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