Perl: Zero to Expert¶
A comprehensive course that takes you from Unix foundations through professional Perl development. Each guide builds on the last, with interactive quizzes, terminal simulations, code walkthroughs, and hands-on exercises throughout.
Guides¶
Unix processes, file descriptors, signals, and why understanding the kernel layer makes Perl's I/O model intuitive. Includes your first Perl commands.
Perl's fundamental data type. The $ sigil, string interpolation, heredocs, numeric types, context, and special variables.
Aggregate data types. @arrays, %hashes, list operations, slices, sorting, map/grep/join/split, and nested data structures.
Conditionals, loops, statement modifiers, loop control with labels, and short-circuit operators.
Perl's signature feature. Matching, substitution, quantifiers, captures, lookaround, modifiers, and split with regex.
Reusable code and complex data. Sub declarations, @_ handling, references, anonymous structures, and closures.
Reading, writing, and talking to the OS. File modes, directory operations, file tests, system/backticks, and fork/exec.
Code organization and the Perl ecosystem. use/require, @INC, namespaces, Exporter, cpanm, and Dist::Zilla.
Perl's OOP model. bless, constructors, inheritance, Moose/Moo, roles, type constraints, and when to use OOP.
Resilient code and bug hunting. die/warn/eval, Try::Tiny, strict/warnings, the Perl debugger, and logging.
Perl's testing culture. Test::More, prove, TAP protocol, Test2::Suite, mocking, and Devel::Cover.
Perl on the command line. The -n, -p, -l, -a, -e flags, field processing, in-place editing, and log parsing.
Network programming and background services. IO::Socket, client-server patterns, HTTP clients, writing daemons, and signal handling.
Modern Perl web development. PSGI/Plack, Mojolicious, Dancer2, RESTful API design, middleware, and deployment.
The full learning path from Unix fundamentals to professional Perl. Phase-by-phase progression with book recommendations and career milestones.