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If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:

by McDarren (Abbot)
on May 24, 2006 at 03:12 UTC ( [id://551265]=poll: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??

Vote on this poll

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by chromatic (Archbishop) on May 24, 2006 at 04:26 UTC

    What, no Perl Hacks? It's merely the least practical Perl book ever!

      Least practical? Why by the end of hack #5, I was a changed developer! Hack #6 was a let-down, however. :-)

      Ivan Heffner
      Sr. Software Engineer, DAS Lead
      WhitePages.com, Inc.

        Don't worry; the original version of Hack #6 pointed right back to Hack #5, saying "The word Best should have given it away."

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by djp (Hermit) on May 24, 2006 at 03:23 UTC
    I voted for the Perl Cookbook, but only because Programming Perl is largely available as man pages.
      IT's vastly useful when you're forced to program on paper - Programming Perl, that is. :D No computer = no man pages.

      And yes, people still write entire programs on paper, and pray that they haven't forgotten a semicolon somewhere. To what end? Beats me. You have to type it in anyway...
        Works that way for me, I think better with a paper and pen.

        I don't write out programs on paper, but I usually start by sketching out classes and methods on paper. The end result is faster than going directly to keyboard (for non-trivial problems).

        I voted for Programming Perl, because it is complete.

        My favorite Perl book is the first Advanced Perl, since I did Perl 4 before reading it (so others could read). I realized what I had been missing out of. I love it dearly.

        (Update: Saw a few comments further down that Bart agrees with me.)

        And yes, people still write entire programs on paper, and pray that they haven't forgotten a semicolon somewhere. To what end? Beats me. You have to type it in anyway...

        Some of that may be age-related. I was raised on pencil and paper, and still find that I think better when I can sketch things out on paper. Similarly, I find it almost impossible to read or proofread using the screen. I need to have a book or print something out onto paper. That's one reason I needed to get Programming Perl, even though much of that is contained in the perldocs or man pages. It's not just the content, it's also the presentation. For well over half my life, computers weren't even an option.

        Typing in something you've written out by hand isn't always a waste of effort. By re-typing, you are forced to deal with your code on the level of characters or small units, which often helps you find errors you've made (usually typos, not logic errors).

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by bart (Canon) on May 24, 2006 at 07:39 UTC

      I had this book, it was so bad it turn me off from considering another Perl book for years. I admit I was still learning at this point but it made the subject so inaccessible that I really was intimated by it.

      Luckily, I keep programming anyways.

LPORM+1 = IP
by merlyn (Sage) on May 24, 2006 at 15:15 UTC
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by monkfan (Curate) on May 24, 2006 at 07:28 UTC
    If only one could vote for Perlmonks!
    It's one and only greatest living Perl's OPEN BOOK!

    Regards,
    Edward
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by tbone1 (Monsignor) on May 24, 2006 at 13:01 UTC
    I thought "A Tale of Two Scripts" was pretty good. "It was the best of ties, it was the worst of ties ..."

    --
    tbone1, YAPS (Yet Another Perl Schlub)
    And remember, if he succeeds, so what.
    - Chick McGee

      The dickens, you say! I think that's just an artful dodge to avoid having to pick one from oliver choices.

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by purp (Novice) on May 24, 2006 at 05:32 UTC
    Cookbook, too; perldoc -f is always handy for what the camel book offers. (and paper? I stopped killing trees to write programs just as fast as I could ;)

    My real answer, though, is "whichever applies to what I'm doing at the moment and has what I don't know well enough yet." That was "Programming the Perl DBI" most recently. Dunno what it'll be next.

    --
    Jim Meyer, Geek At Large
      Yes, but I think you missed the question. If you were only allowed to have one Perl book - which would it be?

      Or to put it another way: which of those listed (or not listed) will give you the most of what you need as a Perl programmer?

        While I voted for the Cookbook, I have to give props to "Writing Perl Modules for CPAN" for getting me to write to a rigorous standard. I haven't contributed to CPAN (yet) but it has definitely paid off for me and my coding team.
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by gellyfish (Monsignor) on May 24, 2006 at 07:47 UTC

    I think I ought to be able to vote multiple times, once for each edition of Programming Perl that I have.

    Actually with the first (pink, perl 4 oriented) edition, whilst I found the book itself useful, it was the pocket reference that came with it that got the most use.

    /J\

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by zerogeek (Monk) on May 24, 2006 at 07:14 UTC
    As a Perl NOOB, I had to vote for Learning Perl. However, as I am only 1 chapter away from being done with that book and already picked up Programming Perl, I was happy to see that it too is so high on everyones list.

    In all fairness, perlmonks.com has been as informative so far as the books that I am reading. With my current level of knowledge, I'd be willing to give up the multiple perl books that I have so far before I'd give up this site!

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by lorn (Monk) on May 25, 2006 at 15:26 UTC

    I like cookbook, because it's a portable perlmonks :P

    Lorn
    -http://lornlab.no-ip.com-
    -www.slackwarezine.com.br-

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by McDarren (Abbot) on May 24, 2006 at 05:33 UTC
    For me - of the books I have, which is most of the above (plus a few others) - it's a toss up between PBP and The Camel. But I went with The Camel, because I think I've learned much more from that book than any of the others :)
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by BigRare (Pilgrim) on May 24, 2006 at 18:54 UTC
    This is an easy question, but my answer was sadly not on the list...

    The Perl Pocket Reference is the one I've used more than all my others.
      Yeah, why isn't the Perl Pocket Reference on the list?
      /K2
        That was an accidental, rather than a deliberate, ommission.
        Same applies to Perl Hacks :)
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:... Beginning Perl
by Juerd (Abbot) on May 24, 2006 at 11:11 UTC

    Because Beginning Perl is in my opinion a very good replacement for Camel, Llama, Alpaca together. As I myself don't need Perl books (I have perldoc and the interweb), I'd pick this book as the only one to own, and give it to someone who wants to learn the language.

    Fortunately, you don't need it in dead tree form to read it, as it's available online, for free. That's the old edition, but still a great book for people who are capable of learning from concise instruction material.

    Juerd # { site => 'juerd.nl', plp_site => 'plp.juerd.nl', do_not_use => 'spamtrap' }

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by TedPride (Priest) on May 24, 2006 at 05:07 UTC
    I don't really know enough about the various choices to pick one. It's been a long time since I used a Perl book, since perlfunc, perlvar, and Perlmonks are all online for easy reference. At this point, my choice would probably be something on creating modules / packages.
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by japhy (Canon) on May 24, 2006 at 12:14 UTC
    I voted for OO Perl, but only because "Perl! I Didn't Know You Could Do That..." wasn't on the list. That monkey is hilarious.

    Jeff japhy Pinyan, P.L., P.M., P.O.D, X.S.: Perl, regex, and perl hacker
    How can we ever be the sold short or the cheated, we who for every service have long ago been overpaid? ~~ Meister Eckhart
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by arden (Curate) on May 24, 2006 at 13:21 UTC
    This poll approaches blasphemy! I mean, who could imagine only owning one Perl book? That's crazy talk!

    Anyway, I couldn't find the option for "The Perl CD Bookshelf" in HTML. 'tis the first thing I copy from my CD to my computer when I relocate.

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by swampyankee (Parson) on May 24, 2006 at 14:48 UTC

    I voted for Programming Perl

    (I've got the 2d edition), despite its information being largely replicated in the man pages. Since I program mostly for Windows, I needed to install Perl before I had access to the man pages; Programming Perl gave me enough useful information to convince me to do that and enough information to get started. I also currently own Learning Perl, which I found to be too basic, Mastering Perl/Tk, which is specialized (and, in my opinion, it could be better organized), and Perl Cookbook, which is handy when I want to steal some codeget inspired to find a solution to a specific problem. I still find the camel book to be useful, in that it's frequently easier for me to use a book than online man pages (especially with my randomly-prone-to-demonstrate-why-I-hate-Windows workplace desktop).

    emc

    "Being forced to write comments actually improves code, because it is easier to fix a crock than to explain it. "
    —G. Steele
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by poqui (Deacon) on May 24, 2006 at 18:29 UTC
    I had to say "Perl Programming" because I find it entertaining as well as informative. And you might as well enjoy it...

    "cause I'd rather have a bottle in front of me
    than have to have a frontal lobotomy...
    I might be drunk but at least I'm not insane."
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by Mago (Parson) on May 25, 2006 at 14:29 UTC
    I voted for the Perl Best Practices, because this is very important for all.

    Mago
    mago@rio.pm.org


Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by vek (Prior) on May 25, 2006 at 20:52 UTC

    I dunno, I've always been a bit partial to Mastering Algorithms with Perl myself. Not a new book by any stretch but very interesting if you like that sort of thing.

    -- vek --
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by nimdokk (Vicar) on May 24, 2006 at 16:10 UTC
    I'd say "Programming Perl" while yes, I do have the man pages available to me (both Windows and Unix), sometimes I find it easier to look in a dead-tree version to come up with what I need. It's easier on the eyes than the screen :-)
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by fraktalisman (Hermit) on May 24, 2006 at 10:15 UTC

    Actually I don't own any printed perl book, I read everything online.

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by Polonius (Friar) on May 24, 2006 at 11:55 UTC

    What a great idea for a poll! Now I'm going to have to add Perl Cookbook to my Amazon wishlist as well as PBP.

    Polonius
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by ww (Archbishop) on May 24, 2006 at 12:55 UTC
    voted for LPO, R&O because:
    1. it covers in detail that which is mainly skimmed in the other primer texts such as LP, Cookbook, etc. (and while LP, Cb, etc would be excellent choices if "I could only own one Perl book" && "I were just beginning my pilgrimage" I tend to think I'm far enough from the starting line that I can rely on occasional refreshers here or elsewhere online for primer material)
    2. the selections do not include my real choice, "Mastering Regular Expressions."

    But... contradicting the above, trying to browse to O'Reilly's English-language sites (for the address for MRE) yields (0845 EST, 24 May)
    "Bad Request
    Your browser sent a request that this server could not understand.
    Apache/1.3.34 Server at www.oreilly.com Port 80."

    Oops!
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by dsheroh (Monsignor) on May 24, 2006 at 16:07 UTC
    Perl Black Book for me, heresy though it may be, because it's the one that I find myself reaching for to look things up in more often than all the others combined. The O'Reilly titles that I find useful for reference are all online, so my paper copies just sit and gather dust...
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by gam3 (Curate) on May 24, 2006 at 18:11 UTC
    How about a poll that asks "If you could have books from only one publisher:".
    -- gam3
    A picture is worth a thousand words, but takes 200K.
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by QM (Parson) on May 28, 2006 at 17:41 UTC
    Effective Perl Programming++

    While the others are very useful, EPP answered a lot of my beginner questions, and took me on something of a tour of the ins and outs of the language, delivering wisdom in easy to swallow chunks.

    -QM
    --
    Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by blue_cowdawg (Monsignor) on May 25, 2006 at 02:23 UTC

    ONLY one book? GAAH! But I've lovingly built up my library over the years! Only one book?

    Of course if I had to make a choice it would be my beloved Camel Book... first edition. :-)

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by arc_of_descent (Hermit) on May 27, 2006 at 18:57 UTC

    Without a doubt, Programming Perl


    --
    Rohan

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by johngg (Canon) on May 28, 2006 at 13:53 UTC
    The one I voted for is Programming Perl as it is the one I pick up most often to clarify things. The one I enjoyed the most is Object Oriented Perl because of it's easy style and humour and because it made alien concepts accessible.

    Cheers,

    JohnGG

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by gregor42 (Parson) on May 26, 2006 at 14:24 UTC

    My answer was based simply on actual usage. Once you're beyond the basics you mostly need reference material. So based simply on the well-thumbed condition of them, of the 200+ programming books that I've purchased over the years, the two books I actually refer back to most often are Perl Cookbook and Java Cookbook. Alas, they're both still First Edition..



    Wait! This isn't a Parachute, this is a Backpack!
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by belg4mit (Prior) on May 28, 2006 at 21:00 UTC
    Really? Owl book (Mastering RegExp), though that's not exactly Perl. Otherwise, the Ram book (algo), but given the list: Programming Perl.

    --
    In Bob We Trust, All Others Bring Data.

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by GrandFather (Saint) on May 26, 2006 at 03:30 UTC

    I can't vote for any of those. The "Perl Pocket Reference" is the book I've used orders of magnitude more than any other.

    After that my reference is ActiveState's HTML version of the documentation: "ActivePerl User Guide".


    DWIM is Perl's answer to Gödel
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by pileofrogs (Priest) on May 30, 2006 at 19:56 UTC

    When this poll asks "If you could own one Perl book..." is that like, I'm washed up on a desert island with a computer and a Perl book, which Perl book would I choose? Or is it, if I could give only one Perl book to everyone on the planet, which book would I choose?

    Assuming the desert island, I choose PBP. I'd choose the Cookbook, but I've already read that so many times I almost have it memorized.

    If we were nominating the one book to give to the world, I'd change my vote to Programming Perl.

Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by viralnexxus (Initiate) on May 27, 2006 at 02:09 UTC
    I think if your a beginner than Programming Perl is the way to go, but if you are already familiar with it then Perl Cookbook. Another good one is Perl 5 Complete.
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by HoRi555 (Novice) on May 27, 2006 at 10:27 UTC
    Unfortunately, I'm still a noob to perl after all this
    time, so I can't really say which would be the best,
    although I have Learning Perl and the Perl Cookbook.

    At any rate, thanks for the free karma.

    ----
    Data..for the sake of data.
Re: If I could only own one Perl book, it would be:
by zakame (Pilgrim) on May 30, 2006 at 14:38 UTC
    I already have the second Llama and the third Camel. I'd love a Cookbook or two...

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