Genomic Perl: From Bioinformatics Basics to Working Code

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Summary: Develops effective genomic toolkits for UNIX, Windows & Mac
Review: Combines intuitive derivations of most key algorithms, thoughtful use of key references to illustrate solutions of main problems with a detailed example, and develop well documented, carefully programmed,perl toolkit. The 65 routines on the CD in UNIX, Windows, and Mac formats perform most of the essential maipulations of GenBank sequences. I only miss Hidden Markov Model routines.

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Summary: a nice book
Review: This book was very favorably reviewed on perl.com.

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Summary: Not a good perl programming book period!
Review: This books tries to combine and explain both bioinformatics and perl programming yet fails miserably at both. Though I have taken a class on learning perl this code is difficult to read and poorly explained. The bioinformatics is useless because the examples are simply stupid. For example instead of using free energy to determine RNA folding the author uses hydrogen bonding which is completely irrelavent or predicting species by using %gc or %at content between two organsims also useless. If you are looking for bioinformatics programming tips this book will not help you.
Variables are introduced that are not explained and the program is written in the most condensed possible way making it difficult to read and leaving you wading through each line. I am thankful I have taken programming perl and bioinformatics or this book would be of zero value. If I could I would give this book a -5 stars. Check it out at a library before you BUY!!!!!!! Even if perl.com reviews the book favorably the biology is at best completely WRONG!!! Buy O'Riely's advanced bioinformatics.