Starting step-by-step is a good approach. When I started, I focused on working with files and
applying regular expressions to extract relevant information. And I didn't bother much that
all my control-structures looked like c. Afterward I played with hashes and then with Win::OLE and
Excel - just because that were the things I needed most.
A great way to learn is also the monastery: I often use the questions by other monks as a
challenge to produce some working code. And afterward I compare my solution with the highly optimized
ones of the more experienced monks here. And try to understand their solutions. I think I learned
very much that way. And if I look at (perfectly working!) code I wrote some months ago, I see a huge
difference in style and efficiency. :-)
If you want a collection of good exercises and other information for a beginner, you may also have a
look at the following great collection by planetscape: Re: Real Life Perl Exercises.
HTH, Rata