Customer comments on this selection.
 Excellent guide for writing better code
Not only do these practices apply to Perl, but they apply to any language. I have told several people who are not perl progreammers to references several of the practices since they hold true in any language.
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br /This is a purely practical book on how to write code that anyone can read and follow with minmal effort. It covers various aspects of coding styles and gives clear concice reasons for WHY they should be used. You can for example, using this book, give a clear reference why spaces should be used over tabs, or why underscores in variable names are simply easier for humans to parse than CamelCase.
 Write Perl on Purpose
I started reading Perl Best Practices from page 8 and got bored quickly. But that's because I was reading it the wrong way. First thing, the two introductions -- the preface, and chapter 1, are among the best explanations for why you should care how you write code, in any programming language. The preface begins, "This book is designed to help you write ... the best Perl code you possibly can." Chapter 1 starts with simply, "Code matters." So resist any temptation to skip these intros. Meanwhile, the remaining 18 chapters, each with roughly 20 specific items, cover all of Perl -- much more than one confronts in any specific program. So of course it's boring to read it cover to cover -- it's a reference. But don't just leave it on the shelf until you need it. Instead, set aside 10 minutes a day, and each time, open it up anywhere and start reading. You'll probably be pleasantly suprised to learn something new and useful about a construct you've used many times before.
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br /Still, no one book is the answer. I say read this Perl book for the bite-sized details, and pair it with "Effective Perl Programming" by Hall and Schwartz for the big picture.
All good
This a great manual. Instead of being a reference like most books that you may only need parts of, every chapter has some interesting information and is applicable to daily coding. Since at this point you can learn a lot of Perl just on Google, textbook style manuals are on the way out. Best practices, though, is still very applicable. I wish I had read this book years ago looking back at my functional but awkward scripts.
Ruby and Python aficionados, take this!
One of the biggest asset in the Perl community is the people that form it. And Damien Conway is one of its outstanding members. Possibly the best speaker I've ever seen, he injects wisdom and wit in its books, which always take you a bit further in the path of Perl Enlightment. This one, of course, is no exception. Not only it teaches what you should do, but the many things you _shoulnd't_ do.
br /When will we be seeing a novel by Damien Conway? Don't let Charles Stross be the only perl monger that writes novels!
Best Perl book ever
Not only the best Perl book I've ever read, it's also one of the best programming language books, period.
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br /If you've ever programmed C++ or Java, you'll know how revered the likes of Effective C++ and Effective Java are, a series of tips, suggestions, idioms, advice and commandments. This is the equivalent for Perl, except it's even more thorough and covers even more ground, from brace layout and statement formatting, to regexes, unit testing, documentation and command line parsing.
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br /There's also an exceptionally good chapter on object orientation, wherein author Damian Conway guides the reader through the use of his own Class::Std module. If you're using objects in Perl, and you're still rolling your own, you're really making life unnecessarily difficult for yourself. Class::Std provides object features reminiscent of CLOS, and makes Perl competitive with the likes of Python and Ruby when it comes to objects. Class::Std has changed the way I code Perl forever, and I know I'm not the only one. Seriously, this chapter is worth the price of admission on it own.
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br /It's hard to overstate just how much excellent stuff there is in here, there's even useful emacs and vi settings provided! And I've not even mentioned how well written it is. Damian Conway really does prove himself the master of witty examples.
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br /Perl Best Practices is just brilliant. Absolutely essential reading - don't code Perl without it.
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