Most of the differences between C-ish and Perl-ish is the functional stuff that Perl provides (borrowed from Lisp/Scheme/Haskell/etc). So, learn how to use map, grep, and sub. Patterns to look at are closures, dispatch tables, and function generators. Start thinking of your data in terms of infinite lists that get transformed via a set of completely independent side-effect-free transforms.
This isn't appropriate for everything, but it's good to know. For one thing, it makes Javascript look like a really nice language. I like Javascript - I just don't like its environments.
My criteria for good software:
- Does it work?
- Can someone else come in, make a change, and be reasonably certain no bugs were introduced?
