Perl from the ground up - Michael McMillan

This edition teaches the basics of Perl using lessons and real-world examples. It also provides an advanced treatment of Perl's use in information processing.;Covering both UNIX and Windows 95/NT, the book begins with a description of the Perl language and gradually progresses to explain how it is used for Internet and Web programming. Appendices include the resources of the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network and a glossary of Perl terms. The book covers version 5.003.;Perl is a freely distributed scription and general-purpose programming language that has become very popular as a systems administration and Internet programming tool. It has been described as the "Swiss-Army chain saw" of UNIX tools, but over time has become the language of choice among system administrators for quickly cobbling together utility programs.;The dramatic popularity of the Internet and World Wide Web has pushed Perl into the forefront of professional programming. Much of the back-end processing on Web servers is done with CGI scripts written in Perl. Its rising use in mission-critical applications, ranging from financial transactions to aeronautical design has transformed Perl from a simple programming tool to a means for obtaining dynamic data and printing out easily formatted reports. Perl currently runs on DOS, Macintosh, Amiga, VMS, OS/2, Windows and many flavours of UNIX.