Do we really need another Perl book? Well obviously I think so, and here's why:

• I want a book for people who already know how to program in another language, but don't know Perl.
• I want a book that gets through the basics as quickly as possible. I'm sick of reading about the precedence of operators; I want to know how to do the fun stuff.
• I want a book that emphasizes good programming style in Perl. Many of the Perl programs I have seen are written in a quick-and-dirty style; I wanted to see if the style I have developed in other languages can translate.
• In many Perl books, object-oriented programming is treated as an optional feature for advanced programming. I wanted to bring it closer to the center of focus (although I am anything but an object-oriented bigot).

In presenting Perl features, I tried to find examples that are interesting in their own right, and that encourage the reader to explore Perl's features.

This book is a work in progress. I have some ideas about what will go into the next few chapters, but I am open to suggestions. I am looking for interesting programming projects that highlight some of the moderately advanced features of Perl, like inter-process communication, the Perl/tk interface, or one of the infinite number of modules on CPAN.