From: Daniel Engel Date: October 2005 I wish I had read Perl Best Practices by Damian Conway when I first learned Perl. It is pretty difficult to break old habits, but it it well worth it if the result is to "produce code that is clear, robust, efficient, maintainable, and concise". O'Reilly once again brings us a very useful book, and this one in particular would make a great addition to any technical collection you might have. For Perl can be very forgiving when it comes to code interpretation. It is up to the coder to make sure such code is maintainable in the best possible way. Maintainability is the key to healthy software. Most, if not all, software is bound to have limitations, defects, and other related issues. There is always room for improvement. Improving any software can be accomplished much easier if the source code is readable and understandable. That's where Perl Best Practices shines. The author covers some 19 chapters, ranging from Code Layout to Testing and Debugging. He focuses on the emphasis of mostly "common sense" standards to achieve truly artful source code. I was very receptive to his Code Layout and Naming Convention chapters, it clearly makes a big difference in the code itself. I experimented with minor alterations to his proposed standard, and I always came back to "fix it" the way he postulates. Even further than that... the principles in this book could be applied to pretty much any other programming language. Albeit syntax and semantic differences would require some adjustments. Nonetheless, the principles are very portable. Some parts of the book require you to be experienced with Perl, and offers just a brief innuendo for the less experienced audience. However, the book is very thorough and easy to read. Most important concepts and tidbits are well stressed making skimming through the book a breeze. Some areas required more attention than others to make an impression. So, why do I wish I had read this book before? For once, I have a bucket-full of hardly readable, and unmaintainable Perl scripts scattered around. The main focus on learning how to program is... well, programming. There is very little emphasis on how to do it properly. Pretty code is not high up in the priority list when you have a due date to have it done by. You must look at it as an investment. Would I go back and "fix" my old scripts? Unlikely. Will I employ these Best Practices in future scripts? You bet!