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Learning Perl 4th Edition
Learning Perl, better known as "the Llama book", starts the
programmer on the way to mastery. Written by three prominent
members of the Perl community who each have several years of
experience teaching Perl around the world, this edition has
been updated to account for all the recent changes to the
language up to
Perl 5.8.
Perl is the language for people who want to get work done.
It started as a tool for Unix system administrators who
needed something powerful for small tasks. Since then, Perl
has blossomed into a full-featured programming language used
for web programming, database manipulation, XML processing,
and system administration--on practically all
platforms--while remaining the favorite tool for the small
daily tasks it was designed for. You might start using Perl
because you need it, but you'll continue to use it because
you love it.
Informed by their years of success at teaching Perl as
consultants, the authors have re-engineered the Llama to
better match the pace and scope appropriate for readers
getting started with Perl, while retaining the detailed
discussion, thorough examples, and eclectic wit for which
the Llama is famous.
The book includes new exercises and solutions so you can
practice what you've learned while it's still fresh in your
mind. Here are just some of the topics covered:
Perl variable types
subroutines
file operations
regular expressions
text processing
strings and sorting
process management
using third party modules
If you ask Perl programmers today what book they relied on
most when they were learning Perl, you'll find that an
overwhelming majority will point to the Llama. With good
reason. Other books may teach you to program in Perl, but
this book will turn you into a Perl programmer.
Preface
1. Introduction
Questions and Answers
What Does "Perl" Stand For?
How Can I Get Perl?
How Do I Make a Perl Program?
A Whirlwind Tour of Perl
Exercises
2. Scalar Data
Numbers
Strings
Perl's Built-in Warnings
Scalar Variables
Output with print
The if Control Structure
Getting User Input
The chomp Operator
The while Control Structure
The undef Value
The defined Function
Exercises
3. Lists and Arrays
Accessing Elements of an Array
Special Array Indices
List Literals
List Assignment
Interpolating Arrays into Strings
The foreach Control Structure
Scalar and List Context
<STDIN> in List Context
Exercises
4. Subroutines
Defining a Subroutine
Invoking a Subroutine
Return Values
Arguments
Private Variables in Subroutines
Variable-Length Parameter Lists
Notes on Lexical (my) Variables
The use strict Pragma
The return Operator
Non-Scalar Return Values
Exercises
5. Input and Output
Input from Standard Input
Input from the Diamond Operator
The Invocation Arguments
Output to Standard Output
Formatted Output with printf
Filehandles
Opening a Filehandle
Fatal Errors with die
Using Filehandles
Reopening a Standard Filehandle
Exercises
6. Hashes
What Is a Hash?
Hash Element Access
Hash Functions
Typical Use of a Hash
Exercises
7. In the World of Regular Expressions
What Are Regular Expressions?
Using Simple Patterns
Character Classes
Exercises
8. Matching with Regular Expressions
Matches with m//
Option Modifiers
Anchors
The Binding Operator, =~
Interpolating into Patterns
The Match Variables
General Quantifiers
Precedence
A Pattern Test Program
Exercises
9. Processing Text with Regular Expressions
Substitutions with s///
The split Operator
The join Function
m// in List Context
More Powerful Regular Expressions
Exercises
10. More Control Structures
The unless Control Structure
The until Control Structure
Expression Modifiers
The Naked Block Control Structure
The elsif Clause
Autoincrement and Autodecrement
The for Control Structure
Loop Controls
Logical Operators
Exercise
11. File Tests
File Test Operators
The stat and lstat Functions
The localtime Function
Bitwise Operators
Using the Special Underscore Filehandle
Exercises
12. Directory Operations
Moving Around the Directory Tree
Globbing
An Alternate Syntax for Globbing
Directory Handles
Recursive Directory Listing
Manipulating Files and Directories
Removing Files
Renaming Files
Links and Files
Making and Removing Directories
Modifying Permissions
Changing Ownership
Changing Timestamps
Exercises
13. Strings and Sorting
Finding a Substring with index
Manipulating a Substring with substr
Formatting Data with sprintf
Advanced Sorting
Exercises
14. Process Management
The system Function
The exec Function
The Environment Variables
Using Backquotes to Capture Output
Processes as Filehandles
Getting Down and Dirty with fork
Sending and Receiving Signals
Exercises
15. Perl Modules
Finding Modules
Installing Modules
Using Simple Modules
Exercise
16. Some Advanced Perl Techniques
Trapping Errors with eval
Picking Items from a List with grep
Transforming Items from a List with map
Unquoted Hash Keys
Slices
Exercise
A. Exercise Answers
B. Beyond the Llama
Index
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