Falling at the first hurdle

jfxd500 has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Falling at the first hurdle by Corion (Patriarch) on Feb 19, 2011 at 18:12 UTC
You need to put your Perl script into a text file, and not type it immediately into the shell (the "terminal" you see). To run your very first Perl program immediately, use this in the shell: `perl -we 'print "Hello World!"'` [download] but for longer scripts, create them using a text editor like TextPad or TextMate or in my example `vi`: `> vi myscript.pl ... enter the script > ls -l myscript.pl -rw-r--r-- 1 corion corion 96 19. Feb 18:09 myscript.pl > perl -w myscript.pl ... output of the script` [download] `vi` is a versatile text editor, and it likely already is installed on your Mac, but it is not very friendly for a beginner just starting out. Most likely there is a friendly text editor using the OSX GUI included with OSX, but I don't know it. `vi` has the huge advantage of being available almost everywhere , which is why it helps to have knowledge about it in your toolbox. The two most important things to know about it are the command `:q!` which quits `vi` without saving, and `:wq`, which saves and then quits it.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Falling at the first hurdle by jfxd500 (Initiate) on Feb 19, 2011 at 18:22 UTC
Thanks!!!!	[reply]
Re: Falling at the first hurdle by moritz (Cardinal) on Feb 19, 2011 at 18:11 UTC
Don't type Perl code at the prompt of your shell. Rather write it into a text file, let's say `greeting.pl`, and then run `perl greeting.pl` to run your code. Remember to save the file before running whenever you modify it. Perl 6 - second systems done right	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Falling at the first hurdle by jfxd500 (Initiate) on Feb 19, 2011 at 18:21 UTC
Thank you!!!	[reply]
Re: Falling at the first hurdle by luis.roca (Deacon) on Feb 19, 2011 at 18:46 UTC
First, points for trying to write your first Perl program on the command line (Terminal). Since you're already there here are a few commands to begin reading the documentation: `perldoc perltoc` (Perl Documentation Table of Contents) `perldoc perlintro` (Introduction to Perl) In addition to the good advice already provided to you, in terms of using a "Programmer's" text editor, there are some nice choices on the Mac. You can try out Vi right away as Corion suggested. It's a little strange at first but a perfect way to start is going back to the Terminal and enter `vimtutor`. You'll then be prompted to hit enter/return. This interactive tutorial takes about half an hour and is REALLY worth the time. You can also download a GUI version of Vim for the Mac called MacVim and have access to some helpful plugins for programming Perl. There is also BBEdit, which I've used for a while and really like. It's pricey (especially compared to Vi ($99.99 US) but there's a free trial as well as a basic version called Text Wrangler. Good luck and have fun. "...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Falling at the first hurdle by Your Mother (Archbishop) on Feb 19, 2011 at 22:54 UTC
If you’re on a Mac and willing to pay, the right thing to buy is TextMate. Single license is $55 US right now and it’s a very deep, scriptable, pluggable editor for code and templates.	[reply]
Re^3: Falling at the first hurdle by luis.roca (Deacon) on Feb 20, 2011 at 04:14 UTC
Oh I've used TextMate. (Although not since it was more around $40) It's well designed, easy to jump into and grow with. I just like BBEdit more. But like I said - the Mac has nice choices :) "...the adversities born of well-placed thoughts should be considered mercies rather than misfortunes." — Don Quixote	[reply]
Re: Falling at the first hurdle by 7stud (Deacon) on Feb 19, 2011 at 20:46 UTC
For a good text editor, try vim. Type: `$ vimtutor` [download] to start an interactive lesson on how to use vim. Once you get the basics down, there are lots of features you can enable.	[reply] [d/l]