perl

This topic is a divided into the following sections:-

Overview

Perl started out as a "glue" language for UNIX, but has grown into a general purpose language that runs on many platforms. Perls scripts range from tiny one-liners to large multi-module giants. Perl compiles and executes in a single pass, there isn't a separate linking step, so code development cycle can be very quick.

Purpose

Perl is so truly a general language it's hard to pigeon-hole into a particular area! Unless the task in hand is so clearly computationally intensive that it requires C+ or Fortran then perl is worth considering. It is particularly good for production systems that run jobs, analyse their output and take decisions based on this analysis.

Availability

Perl is freely available on both Linux and Windows.

Using at Oxford

There are no restrictions on its use at Oxford.

Further Information

The The official perl home is a good place to look for further information.

Tutorial

Beginner's Introduction to Perl

Books

There are many books on perl but a good one to start with is Programming Perl, 3rd Edition By Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, Jon Orwant.

Courses

OUCS runs courses on Perl.

FAQs

There is an FAQ from the perl home page.

Hints and Tips

None.

References

See Documentation from the perl home page.

Contact

Nick West
If you have any comments about this page please send them to Nick West