Minimal Perl BOF, #2

                TITLE: Minimal Perl for the Impatient
                       Length: 1 day, Hands-On

                        SPEAKER: Dr. Tim Maher
                        [email protected]

                       Head Software Instructor
                CONSULTIX, POB 70563, Seattle WA 98107
                     http://www.consultix-inc.com
                         (206) 781-UNIX/8649


Target Audience

Anyone who doesn't already know Perl, needs to do simple data
processing, and has a logical mindset can benefit from attending.

This class is particularly well suited to individuals of the
following types:

   o Non-Programmers (MIS managers, etc.),
     who want to gain a better understanding of why Perl is so popular
     with professional programmers, and learn to do basic data
     processing without learning too much or thinking too hard,

   o Near-Programmers,
     who are handy with the "grep", "sed", or "awk" commands, and want
     to expand their skills to include the premier "programmable
     filter", AND

   o Programmers,
     who don't want to learn enough to become Perl experts, but just
     enough to gain access to some of its special capabilities.


Prerequisites

Prior experience with programming is helpful, but anyone with a
logical mindset can benefit from attending.


Course Philosophy

Perl is a wonderful language, that offers programmers a rich feature
set, huge stylistic and syntactic liberties, and many ways to
accomplish the same thing.  But for the impatient beginner, these
characteristics can translate into "too many complications, too much
uncertainty, and too many choices."  Although Perl's motto is "There's
More Than One Way to Do It", this class will teach students only
one way -- the "Easiest Way"!


What Attendees Will Learn

Students will learn a carefully selected minimal subset of Perl that
gives immediate access to some of its powerful capabilities, and
serves as a solid foundation for additional learning.  The class's
approach is based on the "Pattern/Action" model of programming, as
featured in the influential AWK language.

Upon completion of the class, students will have the necessary
skills to convert files, validate data, generate simple reports, and
perform numerical calculations in Perl.


Author & Instructor

During the last two decades, Dr. Tim Maher has taught programming to
thousands of high-tech professionals.  As a Professor of Computer
Science, and later as a Software Instructor for AT&T, Sun, DEC, HP,
and CONSULTIX, Dr. Maher has consistently earned acclaim for his
highly effective and entertaining style of course development and
presentation.

                            COURSE OUTLINE

  1.  Course Introduction

              Course Objectives

  2.  Creating a Perl Script

              Using the print Function
                      Using Double-Quotes
                      Using "\n"
              Creating the File
              Enabling Appropriate Options
                      -w Option
                      -n Option
                      -l Option
                      -i Option
                      use English;
              Making the Script Executable and Locatable
                      Windows Example
                      UNIX/Linux Example
              Submitting Script to Operating System
                      Windows Example
                      UNIX/Linux Example
              The "Hello, World!" Program
           Lesson Review

  3.  Pre- and Post-Input Processing

              The BEGIN Block
              The END Block
           Lesson Review

  4.  Accessing Inputs

              Named Files
              Default Input Source
              Accessing Input Lines
                      The $ARG Variable (aka $_)
           Lesson Review

  5.  Operators and Branching

              String Operators
                      Using "eq" and "ne"
              Numeric Operators
                      Using "==" and "!="
                      Using ">", "<", ">=", "<="
              Arithmetic Operators
                      Using "+", "-", "*", "/"
              Compound Tests
                      Using Logical "and" And "or"
                      Importance of Parentheses
              Pattern/Action Syntax
                      The if Statement
                      The if/else Statement
              Example: Working with Selected Input Lines
           Lesson Review

  6.  Using Variables

              Perl Variables
                Output  Field Separator:  $OFS (aka $,)
                Input  Record Separator:  $RS  (aka $/)
                Output Record Separator:  $ORS (aka $\)
                      Number of Current Record: $NR  (aka $.)
                      Number of Fields: @F
              User-Defined Variables
                As Data Storage/Retrieval Tools
           Lesson Review


  7.  Matching Patterns and Performing Substitutions

              The Matching Operator
                      Using the /i Option
              The Substitution Operator
                      Using the /i Option
                      Using the /g Option
              Example: Selecting Lines with Matches
              Example: Performing Substitutions on Matched Text
           Lesson Review

  8.  Elementary Regular Expressions (REs)

              What is a Regular Expression?
                      Literal Characters
                      Meta-Characters
              Anchoring Metacharacters: ^, $, \b
              The One-Character Wildcard: .
              The Enumerated Wildcard (Character Class): []
              Repetition Metacharacters: *, +
              The "Anything Goes" Metacharacter: .*
              The Quoting Metacharacter: \
              Avoiding Common Blunders
              Lesson Review

  9.  Working with Fields

              Using the -a Option
              Default Field Separators
              Custom Field Separators
                      Using the -F'[]+' Option
              Field and Record Variables
                      $F[0], $F[1], etc.
              Lesson Review

 10.  Course Conclusion
           Additional Code Samples
              Review and Summary
              Where to Learn More