Re^3: Is Programming Perl still relevant as a reference book?

My beef is exactly this: I only have electronic documentation. Information is up to date, certainly, but reading long passages of text from the screen is uncomfortable. Call me old-fashioned, but a book is a book.

Thank you everyone for opinions. I will visit the library (although they likely do not have a copy) or a bookstore and read a few pages before buying, though, simply to ascertain the quality.

--
print "Just Another Perl Adept\n";

Comment on Re^3: Is Programming Perl still relevant as a reference book?

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^4: Is Programming Perl still relevant as a reference book? by TGI (Parson) on Mar 02, 2007 at 22:51 UTC
Real books are definitely better than ebooks. Despite the deficiecies of ebooks, the CD bookshelf is nice. You get a paper version of Perl in a Nutshell, in addition to the ebooks. The search features of the ebooks are handy for looking up something short. IME, On-screen reading is fine for light browsing of a text. However, longer material is unpleasant to read on screen. When the CDBS was my primary resource, if I wanted to read a longer selection, I would just print out the sections as I needed them (duplexed, 2 "pages" to a side to save paper) and throw them in a binder. After a while it became obvious which books I was printing lots of, so I bought "real" copies of those books. I found the CDBS to be a cost effective way to get my hands on a variety of good perl books, before I had time to build my library. YMMV Don't forget to check used book stores, you might be able to find some real bargains. Good luck building your library. TGI says moo	[reply]
Re^4: Is Programming Perl still relevant as a reference book? by NatureFocus (Scribe) on Mar 03, 2007 at 04:44 UTC
Check out good computer stores. We have a local Micro Center that has many older editions for $2 to $5 in a clearance section. I have bought many books that way because I never know what I'll need in the future for reference. Another good source are places like half.com to buy used and new books at a discount. Update: Removed reference to illegal website. Sorry. -Eugene	[reply]
Re^5: Is Programming Perl still relevant as a reference book? by merlyn (Sage) on Mar 03, 2007 at 05:03 UTC
Some of the older CD Bookshelf versions are online several places. You, sir, offend me. There are no legal copies of that CD available to the public. Instead, you are aiding and abetting the Pirates. Have you no shame? You are taking money out of my pocket. {sigh} This is why we have no more CD Bookshelves, and why it has all moved to Safari. -- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker	[reply]
Re^6: Is Programming Perl still relevant as a reference book? by chromatic (Archbishop) on Mar 03, 2007 at 06:23 UTC
Instead, you are aiding and abetting the Pirates. As far as I know, piracy has never been a problem for O'Reilly. We don't do too much oversea shipping, and it's reasonably safe these days. Now copyright infringement is kind of a hassle....	[reply]


Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister
	PerlMonks