I'm actually reading Programming the Perl DBI Because I want to fill in the gaps in my DB knowledge. For example, I hadn't researched the TRACE capabilities of DBI. Much of the code I use, and some I have written, is littered with manual tracing that can be simplified by using built-in facilities.

On the other hand, P.t.P.D. has many outdated idiom, such as C-style loops. There are newer and cleaner ways to write code.

I would suggest:

1. Read Programming the Perl DBI to get a thorough understanding of DBI.
2. Read the modern DBI man page, to determine what has changed.
3. Read Modern Perl and Effective Perl Programming to get modern idiom and new trends in good Perl style.