Macperl: Power and Ease

Rating:
Summary: A superb way to learn Perl!
Review: I first encountered this book first in electronic format on macperl.com, and used it to learn Perl with great success. In fact, I liked it so much that I actually ordered it!

This is a superb book for learning programming. The approach to learning may be annoying for more experienced computer people, but for me it was just perfect. In under 2 months I have become extremely proficient in Perl programming.

This book isn't merely good for Mac users either. A UNIX friend of mine gave up on "Learning Perl" from O'Reilly publishing, but he managed to learn Perl from this book! Kudos to Vicki Brown and Chris Nandor...and thanks for revamping the Slashcode, Chris!

If you want to learn Perl, buy it!

Rating:
Summary: A superb way to learn Perl!
Review: I first encountered this book first in electronic format on macperl.com, and used it to learn Perl with great success. In fact, I liked it so much that I actually ordered it!

This is a superb book for learning programming. The approach to learning may be annoying for more experienced computer people, but for me it was just perfect. In under 2 months I have become extremely proficient in Perl programming.

This book isn't merely good for Mac users either. A UNIX friend of mine gave up on "Learning Perl" from O'Reilly publishing, but he managed to learn Perl from this book! Kudos to Vicki Brown and Chris Nandor...and thanks for revamping the Slashcode, Chris!

If you want to learn Perl, buy it!

Rating:
Summary: It needs work
Review: I'm glad this book was written because I love the Mac OS and want to see Perl developed on it. However, this book is not easy to use. It's clear that the authors do know what they're talking about, but they're not great at conveying lessons to the reader. Some script examples can be confusing to walk through when the authors say stuff like "Let's add this line to the script we've been writing" without telling you where in the script to add it, or what to line to replace. It seems as if they're so excited about the subject of the book that they fail to stick to repetetive teaching conventions (which I personally find very helpful with programming books. I'm sure not everyone does. Call me dry.) I plan to finish this book, but I actually found my C++ books easier to read, and that can't be becuase C++ is easier. I think with some revision, this book could be a great staple for Perl programming on the Mac. Namely: Pick a lesson format and stick with it. Don't just wander through the features of Perl. Still glad they wrote it, though. Viva the Mac OS. If you're an absolute beginner, buy this book if you're prepared to re-read sections. If you're somewhat experienced, this book will probably prove quite useful to you.

Rating:
Summary: an indespensible book for learning and for reference
Review: If you want to use MacPerl (the excellent port of Perl to MacOS, loaded with useful Mac-specific functions), you can do it one of two ways:

You can buy this book; or you you can poke around aimlessly for about two years learning, by trial and error (and guess, and crash), what is clearly laid out in this book.

Two years ago I was an already fairly experienced Perler, but with little experience with MacPerl. If I'd had this book two years ago, it would have saved me more time than I really even want to admit -- weeks? Months?

As MacPerl is rapidly becoming the data-conversion meta-tool, file-management language, and all-around Swiss Army chainsaw of choice for MacOS, you can't afford not to have this book.

Rating:
Summary: Buy it!
Review: Perl drives me nuts. This is not a language. This is a strange state of mind. But "MacPerl Power and Ease" does what every good book does. It makes me feel safe. That's why I recommend it to everybody who is afraid of Perl, (still) uses a mac and wants to learn that language. Buy it.

Rating:
Summary: MacPerl might as well be Greek
Review: This book is poorly organized and very difficult to read. The authors write in a misleadingly friendly style peppered with lots of happy little exlaimation marks and supposedly literate quotes from somebody's book of quotations. But when it comes to actually explaining their topic, they fall short. MacPerl Power and Ease is not easy to read. It doesn't even make sense most of the way. I've had to go through it several times, making copious notes and drawing diagrams trying to get this stuff into my head. There must be a better way to teach programming than this! The best thing about the book is the CD, which has some very interesting freebies. But don't follow the author's directions as to what's on the CD because they'll just confuse you more.

I'm not aware of a better book for Perl users, but this is not one I'd recommend to an inexperienced person like myself. Though I've mastered almost any kind of program in desktop publishing, multimedia and web publishing, I'm still struggling with Perl.

All I really wanted to know was how to make CGI scripts. I'm poorer, farther behind in my regular work than I should be and I'm still wondering if I'll ever understand this language.

Bottom line: if you're an amateur looking to learn how to program, hire a geek or go to school, but don't expect to learn it from this book!

Rating:
Summary: 20 pages at the most
Review: This book touches on several subjects without really explaining very many of them. Perhaps written by persons better able to write code than books, the syntax is overly loose and informal. The really useful data in this book would fit about 20 pages. The rest is teaser and fluff, the beginning of an idea without the essence. MacPerl is a wonderful, free tool for the Macintosh, but this book is not worth the price of admission.

To sum it all up, its a hack job and a frustrating read.