I dont really have much previous programming knowledge - though of course I have an intermediate understanding of html - I also have done a little bit of Visual Basic, though that was about a year or 2 ago.
Very easy to understand and not patronising like some books I have purchased
what is the difference between the 2?
Thatīs easy: PHP is rubbish! Perl is great!
Thanks to everyone who has responded so far, by the way!
Thatīs easy: PHP is rubbish! Perl is great!
?!
PHP requires a PHP module to execute the script - which essentially means, you need to be running server services. PERL does not so you can write PERL scripts that will execute on your PC. While I'm not familiar enough with PERL to tell you the details, I know that many folks like it for it's simplicity and flexibility. This Board, for example, is written in Perl. PERL lovers will be able to tell you more.
If you're starting from scratch have a look at the Visual Quickstart Guide: Perl and CGI for the World Wide Web by Elizabeth Castro. Won't overwhelm you, which I think is half the battle in learning a new language. At $18.99US it won't dent your pocketbook either. Well written, clear, concise.
Take Andreas' bias with a grain of salt. PHP is a good language. Easy to learn. Lots of help available. Widely used. Wrox's Beginning PHP4 is a good place to start.
T
There have been a couple discussions about PHP/Perl in this forum:
Which server side scripting languages are best? [webmasterworld.com]
PHP Gets Major Boost From an Unlikely Spot - Yahoo! [webmasterworld.com]
On using Perl over PHP for website development; why you do or don't. [webmasterworld.com]
Both PHP and Perl come in both flavors: as Apache modules and stand alone binaries. While PHP is mostly used as a server module Perl is not. The pure language aside mod_perl gives you complete access to the Apache API. This comes at the price of scripts being more complex. Whereas with mod_php you just use your ordinary script files containing a mixture of HTML and PHP with mod_perl you write Perl modules that are interfaced via the Apache API.
Both let you write scripts that run from the command line. While text processing is way easier in Perl it is possible in PHP as well. Perl comes with literally thousands of modules for all kinds of tasks. That makes a lot of things as easy as using and calling a few methods.
If your main objective in learning Perl/PHP is to build dynamic web pages and you want results fast then I would suggest you have a go at PHP.
If you are looking for a great and powerful programming language then Perl is the way to go.
As for book recommendation you never fare wrong with OīReilly books.
Andreas
Is there a definitive perl website? CPAN? For php there is php.net but I don't know which would be the best (most comprehensive) for perl.
For CPAN modules I like the documentation at [search.cpan.org...]
Andreas
LOL!
I don't think anyone wants to go through THAT again! :)
I concur RE: O'Reilly books though I'll add that if you're looking for a recipe approach, I don't think they'll fit your need. They are excellent reference material and I consider them a must have.
recipe approach
Thatīs what the Perl Cookbook is for.
Learning Perl (on Win32) is an excellent introduction to both programming and Perl.
Andreas
Thatīs what the Perl Cookbook is for.
Understood. I just think the O'Reilly books approach things from a little higher perspective than the regular bear might want to begin with. :)
