Perl Web Site Workshop

Rating:
Summary: Why learn yet another author's programming 'modus operandi'?
Review: Folks, if you can understand what the programmer is doing and saying in this book, you can certainly learn to code Perl for yourself (without the book). It's woefully devoid of whys and what-fors, and makes plenty of assumptions (though claiming otherwise) about your aptitude and disposition regarding Perl-related information - Unix, for example. Holy smoke! I'm just as much a proponent of understanding foundation technology as the next guy, but there is absolutely no reason at all in today's Mac/PC Web development environments to learn the bevy of esoteric Unix commands shoveled out in the book. None! Not to mention the Unix processes and programs only casually thrown out a single time in passing, as if the target audience (aspiring Perl/Unix people) is going to understand it all.

Most of the code in the book, as is much else written using CGI.PM is overly obfuscated and complex. The browser detection and cookie routines used in the book are about four times more complex than need be. This might be okay if one were just going to plug it in and go... something not possible. The bulk of the book is made up of explanation regarding how to employ these code snippets. It's rough going.

Internationalization and other Web usability issues seem to have been overlooked. Example: The taint-checking subroutine strips away all but basic alphanumeric and common/benign punctuation characters. That's no small oversight in an install-it-ready-to-use package.

I bought this book with mild interest A) as research for a class I teach, B) because it was recent, and C) I appreciate what Molly H. does elsewhere. I was disappointed to discover that it isn't much better than the several others I've read from years ago onward (Website Automation Toolkit, Drag 'n' Drop CGI, etc.) Molly seems outside of her area of specialty, and Jason, as good as his Playboy.com coding/work may have been [wink, wink], provides too much in the way of program-busting typos and convolution.

Something nice: The Perl scripts themselves are valuable enough as instruction to buy the book for, at a discount. Many of the security and development considerations talked about throughout the book are highly useful.

If you want a more intuitive approach to learning Perl while gaining instant applications, then I suggest something like 'Custom CGI Scripting with Perl' by Kevin Hanegan. It has some typographical proplems too, but is _muuuch_ easier to understand and work through for the right brain-inclined beginner.

Rating:
Summary: Why learn yet another author's programming 'modus operandi'?
Review: Folks, if you can understand what the programmer is doing and saying in this book, you can certainly learn to code Perl for yourself (without the book). It's woefully devoid of whys and what-fors, and makes plenty of assumptions (though claiming otherwise) about your aptitude and disposition regarding Perl-related information - Unix, for example. Holy smoke! I'm just as much a proponent of understanding foundation technology as the next guy, but there is absolutely no reason at all in today's Mac/PC Web development environments to learn the bevy of esoteric Unix commands shoveled out in the book. None! Not to mention the Unix processes and programs only casually thrown out a single time in passing, as if the target audience (aspiring Perl/Unix people) is going to understand it all.

Most of the code in the book, as is much else written using CGI.PM is overly obfuscated and complex. The browser detection and cookie routines used in the book are about four times more complex than need be. This might be okay if one were just going to plug it in and go... something not possible. The bulk of the book is made up of explanation regarding how to employ these code snippets. It's rough going.

Internationalization and other Web usability issues seem to have been overlooked. Example: The taint-checking subroutine strips away all but basic alphanumeric and common/benign punctuation characters. That's no small oversight in an install-it-ready-to-use package.

I bought this book with mild interest A) as research for a class I teach, B) because it was recent, and C) I appreciate what Molly H. does elsewhere. I was disappointed to discover that it isn't much better than the several others I've read from years ago onward (Website Automation Toolkit, Drag 'n' Drop CGI, etc.) Molly seems outside of her area of specialty, and Jason, as good as his Playboy.com coding/work may have been [wink, wink], provides too much in the way of program-busting typos and convolution.

Something nice: The Perl scripts themselves are valuable enough as instruction to buy the book for, at a discount. Many of the security and development considerations talked about throughout the book are highly useful.

If you want a more intuitive approach to learning Perl while gaining instant applications, then I suggest something like 'Custom CGI Scripting with Perl' by Kevin Hanegan. It has some typographical proplems too, but is _muuuch_ easier to understand and work through for the right brain-inclined beginner.

Rating:
Summary: Look somewhere else...
Review: Looks intriguing on the shelf, but put it back.
Throughout the whole book, you'll find Perl programs of guestbooks, polls, a hangman game, and so many others. The disc that comes with the book has all the code there for you to copy and paste, but the problem is: The codes do not work. You will spend numerous hours on trying to get the simplest things to work, such as the online poll.

I bought this book (even though the price attached to it was ridiculous) because I wanted quick and easy solutions for Perl programs. I got everything but that. The code is too over-complicated and it seems like the authors added all the extra garbage into it to make it look more interesting or to make them look smarter. I don't know what they were trying to do, but they failed. One of the author's resum? explains that they have 'Basic Skills' of Perl and CGI programming. If they have basic skills, then why in the world are they writing a book on the subject!?

This book is not designed to teach Perl. It is designed to be a reference for quick solutions - it accomplishes neither, but there are other books out there that I highly recommend. If you're looking to learn Perl inside and out, check out Randal L. Schwartz & Tom Phoenix's 'Learning Perl 3rd Edition' by O'Reilly publishing. That book will create a solid foundation for you to master the wonderful language.
If you're looking to learn the basics of Perl but with a more foundation of CGI programming - including a reference-type schematic, check out 'CGI Programming 101: Perl for the World Wide Web' by Jacqueline D. Hamilton. That is a learning tool and reference manual all in one. It will teach you the fundamentals of Perl and CGI programming; making you very versatile. Plus, all the coding examples work fine and are understandable.

This book is ultimately not worth your money nor your time. Be cautious of this buy - it's basically like driving down the road on a sunny day and throwing 40 bucks out the window.