Well, perhaps one can treat my comment as good part fondness/nostalgia.
Although, I clicked through the pop-up link, to find a fairly brief and limited set of points in a short, single critique of the 4th edition.
I don't know... It's been a while, but I still remember "Programming Perl" as providing not just the what but a good dose of "why" and context.
A lot of people who "don't like Perl" don't seem to understand that, where it's coming from, both philosophically and systematically (if that is a word and I can use it here).
"Programming Perl" is not, in my opinion, a beginner text. Randal took care of that contemporaneously with "Learning Perl". But it was, and -- current shortcomings aside -- perhaps still is, a good post-beginner text.
It also remains "timeless" for me, in that it was a good, engaging read. In my opinion, more texts should -- if clever enough to -- dialog with the reader rather than spewing at them.
Anyway, I don't mean to put myself in the position of defending Larry et al.'s tomb in this post-post-modern world. I'm hardly qualified to begin such a task.
But even if it's not currently the best reference, or even recommended as such, I think it may remain a decent example of how to write one.
> I think it may remain a decent example of how to write one.
No contest. I'm just worried that, with many people mentioning the "good old books" (which by now are simply bad), without mentioning the current good ones, more newbies will try to get those old books and learn from them and get themselves and others in a lot of trouble that way.
That's why i comment to explain and point out alternatives.
I think I ended up with a (legitimate) ebook of the 4th edition, but I haven't tried it.
Newcomers should understand that Perl is beget of its *NIX heritage. With some understanding of this, it stops being "line noise".
Perl was the language I encountered that "thought the way I do". For those considering, I think this remains a very relevant factor in its continued existence. For what that's worth.
"Programming Perl" was the first computer "textbook" I ever read with a sense of humor. Before that, it had been all dry C books and the like. That's why I liked it so much. Yes, "Learning Perl" would definitely be better. At the time, I wanted both the tutorial AND the reference book, so that's what I got.
"Intermediate Perl" is still awesome for the next level stuff, particularly with all the references and transformations, et. al.
