Expressivity
Learn about expressivity: the what and hows of Perl.
Coding in Perl
Before Larry Wall created Perl, he studied linguistics. Unlike other programming languages designed around a mathematical notion, Perl’s design emulates how people communicate with each other. This gives us the freedom to write programs depending on our current needs. We can write simple, straightforward code or combine many small pieces into larger programs. We can select from multiple design paradigms, and we can eschew or embrace advanced features.
Learning Perl
Learning Perl is like learning any spoken language. You’ll learn a few words, then string together sentences, and then enjoy simple conversations. Mastery comes from the practice of both reading and writing code. You don’t have to understand every detail of Perl to be productive, but the principles in this chapter are essential to your growth as ...