I have attempted to learn Perl about three times before and then giving up telling myself it is because I don't have any programming experience. Well this time I am determined to learn it because I know it will make my job much easier

well what exactly is your job and how do you feel that Perl will make it easier? if you are a non-programmer, there are many things between full-fledged programming and non-programmatic point-and-click.

Are you certain that you dont need something less than full-fledged programming (ie, spreadsheet, database, expert system)? Are you certain that what needs to be done needs to be done by you? I often try to take matters into my own hands when it would be better to delegate the task to someone with much more experience.

Also, note well, you might just want to take a look at CPAN, a Perl archive of useful software. What you want done may well likely already exist there. And also read articles on Perl.com and XML.com to see solutions to common problems.

Not to scare you away, but again, what is the role that you feel Perl will fill in your occupational endeavors?

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