Re: Re: Perl Man Pages

I disagree. There is nothing better nor more important for a Perl newbie to learn than how to use perldoc.

It should be the first line in every post.

It should be in the Perl Monks logo.

Learn to use perldoc. You'll never regret it.

--
Regards,
Helgi Briem
helgi AT decode DOT is

Comment on Re: Re: Perl Man Pages

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Re: Re: Perl Man Pages by chicks (Scribe) on Jan 21, 2003 at 03:35 UTC
I love perldoc and I teach it prominently when I teach Perl, but I also make sure the students have a good book to read. A book will never beat the perldoc for being there when I'm actually coding or being useful as a reference. I would hate to have to program without a local perldoc and search.cpan.org, but it would have taken me a lot longer to make effective use of them if weren't for a few good books. Perldocs and books each has their own place, but given a choice between a nice ORA book and a print-out of any perldoc, the ORA book wins hands down for long distance journeys and short trips to the bathroom. In those ways and a multitude of others, the dead tree is still far better. Given that many people are more comfortable learning that way and aren't likely to ever find the screen a more comforting source of consuming large volumes of new knowledge, your "nothing better" is a much more personal statement than a universal one.	[reply]

Replies are listed 'Best First'.

Re: Re: Re: Perl Man Pages
by chicks (Scribe) on Jan 21, 2003 at 03:35 UTC

I love perldoc and I teach it prominently when I teach Perl, but I also make sure the students have a good book to read. A book will never beat the perldoc for being there when I'm actually coding or being useful as a reference. I would hate to have to program without a local perldoc and search.cpan.org, but it would have taken me a lot longer to make effective use of them if weren't for a few good books. Perldocs and books each has their own place, but given a choice between a nice ORA book and a print-out of any perldoc, the ORA book wins hands down for long distance journeys and short trips to the bathroom. In those ways and a multitude of others, the dead tree is still far better. Given that many people are more comfortable learning that way and aren't likely to ever find the screen a more comforting source of consuming large volumes of new knowledge, your "nothing better" is a much more personal statement than a universal one.

[reply]