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Title: Perl 5 How-To: The Definitive Perl 5 Problem-Solver by Stephen Asbury, Mike Glover, Aidan Humphreys, Ed Weiss, Jason Mathews, Selena Sol ISBN: 1571691189 Publisher: Waite Group Pr Pub. Date: 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $49.99

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Average Customer Rating: 2.67

Rating: 1
Summary: Frequent errors make it difficult to use
Comment: I needed an intro to Perl, which also let me jump into examples. From the table-of-contents, this book seemed like it would be a good one. However, I found the first chapter so full of errors (especially in the code examples) that it was almost worthless for a Perl newbie like myself.

With Perl especially, it is difficult to know for certain whether a stray symbol in the code samples is a mistake or a subtle construct of Perl. This book's examples are cluttered with such odd mistakes, which really are generally mistakes.

Even worse, there is really inadequate discussion surrounding the code examples to tell exactly why they are presented. Sometimes new constructs actually are introduced in the examples, without explanation surrounding them (or even reference to the later sections where they will be fully explained... which would be fine too).

Very difficult for a beginner, and probably too simple for an expert.

Rating: 3
Summary: Ok, but pales in comparision to "Perl Cookbook"
Comment: I bought this book before getting "Perl Cookbook" - and I can tell you there is no comparision. Get the O'Reilly books (including Perl Cookbook) before buying third party books. There is no substitute, unless you are looking for sheer unproofed bulk, which the "Definitive" Perl-5 Problem Solver excels at.

Rating: 2
Summary: Too proprietary
Comment: As you go through the book, more and more examples rely on the previously discussed code. That makes it unusable as a reference book.

My main complaint is that well over 1/3 of the book is devoted to HTML parsing and dynamic output, which is great. The problem is that the author wants you to use his HTML parsing engine for every 'How-to' recipe. So, if you don't want to use this particular parsing method, close to half of the book is useless. :(