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Any Help (with finding easier tutorials)? =(

by Anonymous Monk
on Sep 19, 2001 at 05:10 UTC ( [id://113244]=perlquestion: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??

Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: Any Help? =(
by blakem (Monsignor) on Sep 19, 2001 at 05:19 UTC
    Do you have any specific questions that we might be able to help you with? I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the level of help you can receive here for free, simply by stating your questions and problems in a concise and specific way.

    Other than that, I'd recommend the Learning Perl book by O'Reilly for people just starting out.

    -Blake

      ok thats the thing I don't have spacifick question's I don't understand any of it mabe what I have read was just confuzing but in any case I don't get it. I need a full explination. BTW thanx for the lonk I'll cheek it out.
Re: Any Help? =(
by cricket (Acolyte) on Sep 19, 2001 at 08:15 UTC
    i started with Learning Perl (the llama book), and it was super clear and easy to understand. i'm a total beginner too -- no other languages, except a smattering of BASIC when i was a kid. i'd definitely start there, if you've got the $25 for the book.

    the tutorials here on Perl monks have lots of help on specific topics, but they're not necessarily a good place to start if you're as brand new as i was.

    once you do get even a smattering of perl basics, though, the monks are super helpful about even the most basic questions. and there's a ton of questions/answers to common problems that you can access just by typing your question or keywords into the search box.

    come to think of it, i've actually never even posted a question, because most of the things i want to do have all been done by others before me. i just do a search, and i've never come away empty-handed.

    --cricket

      Of course search has been acting up this week... if it doesn't work for you, try Super Search instead.

      -Blake

Re: Any Help (with finding easier tutorials)? =(
by dru145 (Friar) on Sep 19, 2001 at 22:02 UTC
    I was in the exact same predicament as you when I first attempted to learn Perl. I had no programming experience whatsoever. I also thought that I could read a few tutorials and that would be sufficient enough to get me started. I never found a tutorial that I could understand easily. I then purchased Learning Perl which was good until I got to the section on hashes and lost all hope. This is a very good book, but it often refers to something with "This is similar to how it works in C or Awk." So I feel it is geared more towards someone who has at least a little bit of programming experience.

    Perl Monk's very own danger wrote a book Elements of Programming with Perl which is written for the complete programming newbie. I find it to be very good and if you have any questions regarding anything in the book, he has an online forum that you can post too and he is always very fast to explain. Learning Perl does describe some concepts better. I would recommend buying both of these books.

    I've come to the conclusion that you can not learn Perl reading a book. The books are much better as a reference. I tried two times to learn Perl by reading books and gave up in frustration. The third time I tried, I told myself "I am just going to start writing this script and don't give up until it's finished." The only way you will really learn Perl is to write Perl scripts (or programs for you purist). Start out by writing a simple script that will automate a daily task that you are currently performing manually. If you can't think of anything to write, then do the exercises at the end of each chapter in Learning Perl and Elements of Programming with Perl, but don't cheat by looking up the answer.

    One of the best resources out their for a newbie is Perl Monks. I don't think I would have learned as much as I have without PM. When posting, make sure you at least attempt to write the code, even if you know you are way off. This serves two purposes:

    1. Let's the monks know that you are not just out for a quick answer.

    2. The monks will know how in-depth to explain something depending on your knowledge of Perl.

    One last piece of advice, be patient. This stuff isn't easy and it will not come to you overnight.

    -Dru
Re: Any Help (with finding easier tutorials)? =(
by RayRay459 (Pilgrim) on Sep 19, 2001 at 22:41 UTC
    Anon Monk,
    If you are looking for anything in particular, do ask in the seekers of Perl wisdom. You will get prompt answers. If you are looking for a place to start, i suggest, Learning Perl from O'Reilly. Thats what i used. The key is to actually try writing scripts from what you learn. Do the exercises in the book. And if you ever get stuck, come here and ask, everyone will be more than happy to help. Trying not to sound like a broken record, but practice practice practice. I didn't really understand how to script until i wrote some and got help where i got stuck. Good luck and happy scripting.
    Ray
      well all the replyes are great but I can't go buying anythiing (I was hopeing you would direct me to a place on the web). So I supose I will have to just keep looking for a good tutorial. Thanx any way PeAcE oUT
        Bump! dose that work hear? oh well BUMP!
Re: Any Help (with finding easier tutorials)? =(
by George_Sherston (Vicar) on Sep 19, 2001 at 15:58 UTC
    I found CGI 101 a very accessible intro to the absolute basics of perl. On the other hand it did get me into bad habits that showed up when I started doing more ambitious projects. I'd recommend it on the understanding that very soon after reading it you find out what
    use strict; use CGI;
    mean, and learn to use them. But it's a good place to start.

    § George Sherston

      CGI 101 is very dodgy in places. The author is currently working on a second edition of the book and I'm sending her details of the problems in the first.

      --
      <http://www.dave.org.uk>

      "The first rule of Perl club is you don't talk about Perl club."

Re: Any Help? =(
by dash2 (Hermit) on Sep 19, 2001 at 13:48 UTC
    When I started out, I found the basic tutorials at perl.about.com very helpful. #dave hj~
Re: Any Help? =(
by Anonymous Monk on Sep 19, 2001 at 05:20 UTC
    ok mabe this will make it show.
      Posts are group-moderated (though the guidelines are very loose, we err on the side of approval) which means you need to wait a few minutes for your post to show up in the Seekers of Perl Wisdom section. I think you can see posts in the Newest Nodes list even before they are approved.

      -Blake

Re: Any Help? =(
by Anonymous Monk on Sep 19, 2001 at 05:29 UTC
    oh ok koo

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