Greetings all,
After reading this entire thread, I couldn't help but motice the _glaring_ omission of the most helpful tool for a *NIX newbie -- man,
man is your friend - not to be confused with "the" man, who is probably _not_ your friend. ;)
perldoc is also your friend -
~$ perldoc perl
Something else you will surely want to discover, is what
shell you are using.
Almost all Linux distros supply bash
as the default shell.
Personally, I find csh to be a real
good choice - the first thing I change when I install Linux
on any of my servers/workstations.
If memory serves, it's
found as tcsh on Linux.
The reason I bring up your shell, is that it holds/comprises
most of the ENVironment you work in.
This also affects your
perl installation(s). So the first thing I'd do _before_
messing around with your/a perl installation, would be to
discover what your default shell is.
Examine some of the
others available. Decide which one is for you. _Then_ start
on your perl project(s).
The shell ENVironment is _truly_
a pre-requisite to doing _anything_ on your fresh *NIX
install - really!
If you're more comfortable in a web browser, than at the
terminal (not a good sign if you're on a *NIX boxen), I've
cobbled up an online MANual interface in perl. It allows
anyone to lookup system man pages, as well as any perl man
(pod) pages, and modules. Try this one first:
http://www.perlwatch.net/man/?query=shell
After that, you can enter things like csh bash perl,
or even Pod::Parser - _yes_ with the colons. :)
Then you can try the same at your terminal. :)
Personally, I _would_ choose to install a copy of perl somewhere
within your $HOME directory. But _do_ read up on your shell
environment beforehand. It will ultimately make your final
decision, and final experience _much_ smoother/happier.
HTH, and best wishes.
--Chris
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