I'm currently putting together a post reflecting on my first year learning Perl and as a member of the Monastery. One part of the post is something of a:

Like I said — reflective.

So I began writing a list and there was one subject that I felt deserved it's own post. I thought about what prerequisites I would have given myself before beginning to learn Perl. In other words: "What should you know before learning Perl?"

Not just in terms of math and programming basics (although by all means list those as well). Not just the list of books we normally see suggested (although they are always worth repeating). I'm also thinking of personal attributes. Larry talks about hubris and laziness. What else would we add to that?

What about life experiences? What life experiences should be kept in mind at the start of the path to Perl enlightenment? Or would it simply be better to say:

So how about it? What do you think someone about to learn Perl should know and/or keep in mind ahead of this awesome journey?


"...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote

In reply to What should you know before you start to learn Perl? by luis.roca

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