Perl Sources


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Perl isn't exactly obscure, but sometimes it's hard to get accurate information about it.

This page contains a list of information sources about Perl. It's not complete or comprehensive, and I can't vouch for all of them, but it's an attempt to assemble in one place a corpus of information sufficient to let you find anything you need about Perl.


Internet

Usenet comp.lang.perl.announce carries regular announcements of new Perl modules, FAQ files, and releases of software.
comp.lang.perl.modules is a newsgroup reserved specifically for discussing issues relating to Perl modules (and object oriented programming using modules).
comp.lang.perl.misc is the main Perl miscellaneous discussion group; here you can find Q&A discussions of just about everything germane to the Perl world. Note that you should read the FAQs before posting questions here, and beware of asking Web/HTML questions that are better addressed to the CGI newsgroups!
comp.lang.perl.tk is specifically for discussions of the Perl/Tk graphical programming environment. Perl/Tk is a huge bolt-on extra for Perl 5 that provides an interface to the Tk X-windows graphical programming system; Tk, originally designed as an addition to Tcl, lets you easily construct windowing, menu-and-mouse enabled program in Perl (and other very high level languages, such as Python).
Email macperl mailing list; a mailing list specifically for discussion of Perl on the Macintosh platform.
perl5-porters mailing list: specifically for (very!) technical discussions of Perl 5's internals, issues relating to porting Perl 5 to other platforms, and determining the future direction of the language. (This is a very busy, very technical list, unsuitable for non-specialists.)
libwww-perl mailing list: for the discussion of LibWWW-perl, the Perl 5 object-oriented libraries for World Wide Web programming.
(As a non-Windows person, I don't cover mailing lists specifically for users of Perl on Microsoft products. It's also worth noting that mailing lists exist for other modules and implementations. See the FAQs on CPAN, below, for further pointers to these.)
FTP CPAN, the Combined Perl Archive Network, is the canonical internet source for Perl software, documentation, and modules. CPAN is a distributed archive, mirrored in at least a dozen different places; the URL provided above is local to the UK. Note that you can also visit CPAN via HTTP.
HTTP (Web) CPAN via HTTP.
perl.com, Tom Christiansen's Perl site. Tom is one of the Perl Gods; on this site he keeps numerous documents relating to Perl (including comparisons with other VHLLs).
The Perl Institute is an advocacy foundation intended to extend the freeware culture that developed Perl, by making it easier to learn, support, and use Perl.
Commercial Perl a website hosted by Ingram Group, a UK-based consultancy who are heavy Perl users. This site puts a different spin on Perl by examining and discussing commercial uses of the language.
Perl tutorial by Nik Silver, University of Leeds, UK. See also the ...
CGI tutorial by Nik Silver, giving an introduction to CGI programming in Perl. (Note: this is not the best way to do CGI programming in Perl. See below ...)
CGI.pm -- the Perl 5 Way to do CGI scripting is to use the CGI.pm object oriented CGI interface.
Perl recipes page by Joseph Hall, a Perl instructor. Useful shortcuts (some of them mind-mangling).
pTk FAQ -- the FAQ file for Perl/Tk. (Large document!)
porting pTk -- or how to get your computer to run Perl/Tk (if it doesn't already).
Randal Schwartz's WebTechniques Perl Columns from Unix Review. A set of essays about Perl techniques and the World Wide Web.
Yahoo: Perl Index A collaborative hotlist system (Yahoo!) which maintains a complex list of links to Perl pages. More than I can list here, by a long way.


Books

(Note: YAPCB is an acronym for Yet Another Perl/CGI Book.)

This list contains only those books that I'm currently aware of!

Programming Perl (2nd Edition)
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates
Author: Wall, Christiansen, and Schwartz
ISBN: 1565921496
Description: The canonical book of the Perl language. Accept no substitutes!
Learning Perl
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates
Author: Randal Schwartz
ISBN: 1565920422
Description: The original Perl tutorial.
Software Engineering With Perl : Prototyping & Toolsmithing for Better Software-Sooner/Book and Disk
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Author: Dichter, Carl, and Pease, Mark
ISBN: 013016965X
Description: How to use Perl as a support tool in a software engineering environment. Emphasis on rapid prototyping.
Perl by Example
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Author: Ellie Quigley
ISBN: 0131228390
Description: Perl 4 programming tutorial.
CGI Programming in C and Perl
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Author: Thomas Boutell
ISBN: 0201422190
Description: How to develop CGI programs for the world wide web (inc. Perl).
Command Language Cookbook for Mainframes, Minicomputers, and PC'S : Dos/Os/2 Batch Language, Clist, Dcl, Perl, and Rexx
Publisher: Van Nostrand Reinhold
Author: Hallett German
ISBN: 0442008015
Description: n/a
Developing CGI Applications with Perl
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
Author: John Deep and Peter Holfelder
ISBN: 0471141585
Description: Yet another "CGI in Perl" book.
Teach Yourself Perl in 21 Days
Publisher: Sams
Author: David Till
ISBN: 0672305860
Description: Progressive Perl tutorial. Big and fat.
Perl 5 Unleashed
Publisher: Sams
Author: Chip Salzenberg
ISBN: 0672308916
Description: n/a
Perl 5 Developer's Guide
Publisher: Sams
Author: n/a
ISBN: 0672309580
Description: n/a
Perl for Dummies
Publisher: IDG Books
Author: n/a
ISBN: 0764500449
Description: Not yet published. (The mind, she boggles.)
Creating Cool Web Pages with Perl
Publisher: IDG Books
Author: Jerry Muelver
ISBN: 0764530186
Description: YAPCB
Using Perl
Publisher: Que
Author: Monte Mitzelfelt
ISBN: 0789706598
Description: not yet published
Perl by Example
Publisher: Que
Author: Monte Mitzelfelt
ISBN: 0789708663
Description: not yet published
Perl Quick Reference
Publisher: Que
Author: Michael Foghlu
ISBN: 0789708884
Description: Not yet published
Introduction to CGI/Perl : Getting Started With Web Scripts
Publisher: M & T Books
Author: Steven Brenner and Edwin Aoki
ISBN: 1558514783
Description: YAPCB
Cross-platform Perl
Publisher: M & T Books
Author: Eric Johnson
ISBN: 155851483X
Description: n/a
PC Week Programming Perl 5.0 Web Pages for Microsoft Windows NT
Publisher: Ziff-Davis
Author: n/a
ISBN: 1562764209
Description: One for the Microsoft crowd
Perl 5 Desktop Reference
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates
Author: Johan Vromans
ISBN: 1565921879
Description: Handy pocket-sized crib sheet
Web Client Programming With Perl : Power Users on the Web
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates
Author: Clinton Wong
ISBN: 1565921496
Description: (n/a. It's by O'Reilly, though.)
Perl 5 for Dummies
Publisher: IDG
Author: n/a
ISBN: 1568846371
Description: (Help! They're breeding!)
60 Minute Guide to CGI Programming With Perl 5
Publisher: IDG Books
Author: Robert Farrell
ISBN: 1568847807
Description: How fast is your speed-reading? That fast?!?
Web Programming Secrets With HTML, CGI, and Perl
Publisher: IDG Books
Author: Ed Tittel, Mark Gaither, Sebastian Hassinger, Mike Erwin
ISBN: 156884848X
Description: YAPCB. Don't drop this on your foot.
Perl 5 How-To
Publisher: Waite Group
Author: Weiss, Glover, Humphreys
ISBN: 1571690581
Description: Answers to questions. (Some of the questions, like how to write a binary tree in Perl, left me scratching my head. I mean, what are hashes for? Still, I suppose someone out there will find this useful.)
Perl 5 Interactive Course : An Innovative Web-Based Course
Publisher: Waite Group
Author: Jon Orwant
ISBN: 1571690646
Description: Another tutorial. (NB: Jon Orwant is publisher of The Perl Journal, and Knows His Stuff.)
Teach Yourself CGI Programming With Perl in a Week
Publisher: Sams
Author: Eric Herrmann
ISBN: 1575210096
Description: YAPCB.
Perl and CGI Starter Kit
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Software
Author: n/a
ISBN: 1575210789
Description: Not yet published. YAPCB.
Web Programming With Perl
Publisher: Sams
Author: "Sams Development Team"
ISBN: 1575211122
Description: YAPCB, I presume. Not yet published. (Don't you love Big Fat Books by 'the team'? Betcha it runs to over 800 pages.)
Graphical Application Development in Perl/Tk
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Author: Charles Stross
ISBN: n/a
Description: Not yet published. (Mostly not yet written, for that matter.)


Magazines

There is only one Perl magazine:
The Perl Journal A quarterly magazine dedicated to the Perl programming language. Edited, produced, and published by Jon Orwant. This is strongly recommended if you do Perl for a living! Contents include articles by people like Larry Wall (who he? -- ed), Lincoln Stein, and ... oh, forget it. Read it, or accept that you will forever be standing behind the Camel. (Not a good place to be.) Subscribe.


Training/consultancy

Cygnus provide support and development services for free software, including Perl.
The Perl Consulting Group provide training courses in Perl. (NB: These people are a consortium of Perl specialists, including Tom Christiansen and Randal Schwartz. They're not cheap, but they're the top people in the field.)
Paul Ingram Group Ltd provide consultancy in a number of fields, including specialist WWW/database integration and Perl programming. (One of their partners, Tim Bunce, is the author of the DBI and DBD::Oracle modules -- the standard Perl 5 database interface.)
fma Ltd provide Perl programming services and training (under development). A specialist web consultancy now branching out into general Perl work. (I work there.)


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