I get a little testy when software doesn't match the claims on the brochure and simply doesn't work when it should

While I understand your frustration, and I feel it too (especially in lockdown), I have to ask: given you're not paying for Perl, and to the best of my knowledge have never contributed a single Perl patch or CPAN module, do you feel you have a moral right to complain?

I too get frustrated at times but (like Your Mother) I refuse to criticize devs willing to do things I am not.

Anyways, you've already demonstrated the talent to write useful, working programs, you just need a bit more patience and time (oops, ten years according to the first link below ;) and hard work to reach a level where it starts to become enjoyable.

Some links you might find useful or interesting:

• Teach Yourself Programming in 10 years by Peter Norvig
• The rookie drama recent node by hrcerq
• Conflict in Teams (on the importance of vulnerability and trust)
• Re: Online Tutorial To Get Started (Learning Perl References) (many links on learning Perl)