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Order Essential Perl 5 for Web Professionals

Item Description: Supposed to help new folks learn CGI. Fails miserably.

Review Synopsis: This book ignores ALL CGI security issues using oversimplified and underexplained examples.

This book ignores ALL CGI security issues including:

Continuing on, it provides oversimplified examples of a "search engine" while not even explaining what happens when a CGI script is initiated. This book focuses alot more on HTML than it does on Perl! Supposedly written by "web professionals" that worked on commercial websites, I doubt that these guys actually wrote scripts in the same manner that they explain in the book. This is yet another perl dud. For the sake of Internet security, PLEASE DO NOT BUY OR USE THIS BOOK. 0 stars.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
(redmist) RE: Essential Perl 5 for Web Professionals
by redmist (Deacon) on Oct 08, 2000 at 04:03 UTC
    The same thing goes for "Using Perl 5 for Web Programming." No talk of -T or -w...and get this: it does not even mention CGI.pm!!! It's ridiculous that, knowing virtually nothing about CGI, I am able to be shocked and dismayed at the atrocious CGI programming practices displayed in this book. Absurd!

    redmist
    redmist.dyndns.org
    email::redmist
Re: Essential Perl 5 for Web Professionals
by ichimunki (Priest) on Dec 23, 2000 at 06:56 UTC
    I can't remember which book came first, but I think this was my second web how-to book (the first one concentrated on HTML tricks and JS goodies-- almost all stuff I frown on now).

    While I'm certainly glad this book gave me a gentle introduction to Perl, I have to agree that it is completely worthless. The book is designed to enable cut & paste web development of the worst kind, and only for the most minimal kinds of sites.

    The guestbook sample code has no mention of the huge security risk this sort of scripting can pose, and does nothing to mitigate it.

    I couldn't agree with this review more. I feel like having started with Perl via this book, that my Perl programming has suffered for a long time. THIS BOOK SUCKS.