in reply to how do I use Perl with CGI?

You're gonna hear this alot, but let me be the first to tell you to RTFM.

There are many resources, both in print and on the web, but one place to start might be right here on Perl Monks, with Where can I learn about CGI or Web programming in Perl? and Setting up Perl/CGI with Windows.

As for print references, there are many; some good, some bad; in particular, what worked for me (or another) may not necessarily be appropriate to your current level of programming expertise in general and/or perl expertise in particular.

In my opinion, learning programming (in general) and Perl (in particular) is like solving a jigsaw puzzle.

You may have several pieces connected, but with no frame of reference for where they fit into the big picture (i.e., you've written a simple program or made a minor change to a working one, but couldn't take it further without help). You may have assembled the edges first, in order to define the field (i.e., learned the basics). You may have a large section completed minus one or two missing peices (i.e., perhaps you understand arrays and hashes, but get lost in multilevel structures with many references).

Which book(s) you'll find useful all depends upon how complete your jigsaw puzzle is and which pieces you are looking for.

To recommend one or another is rife with controversy, and is therefore venturing into a minefield in a forum such as this, risking offending one person or another or starting a debate, so I'll leave that to others.

dmm

If you GIVE a man a fish you feed him for a day
But,
TEACH him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime