All the Perl that's Practical to Extract and Report

New lows in vanity

brian_d_foy on 2005-06-22T20:05:06

Most people know about googling their own name (c'mon, we've all done it), but now I've sunk even lower. I've amazoned my own name because Learning Perl 4th Edition is going to hit the streets in a couple of weeks god willing and the river don't rise (I hear that actually used to be a problem in Sebastopol).

Although no one has bought the book yet, Amazon tells me that the average customer review is 4 out of 5 stars. So far so good. :)

4th Edition Question

sigzero on 2005-06-22T20:55:34

How does the new edition differ from the last one?

Re:4th Edition Question

merlyn on 2005-06-22T21:58:01

How does the new edition differ from the last one?
Well, it's one higher, isn't it? It's not three. You see, most blokes, you know, will be reading at three. You're on three here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on three on your keyboard. Where can you go from there? Where?

— Nigel "Stonehenge" Tufnel

Re:4th Edition Question

sigzero on 2005-06-23T02:02:19

That is a cult classic!

Re:4th Edition Question

brian_d_foy on 2005-06-22T22:03:28

We've updated the content for the latest version of Perl and cleaned up a lot of things where we have better ways to explain it. We also added a whole chapter on CPAN.

If you've used a previous edition of Learning Perl, there might be a couple new things for you to learn, and there are a couple of new jokes.

Also, there is a special secret promotion that O'Reilly has. If you've read the Da Vinci code, well, you'll figure it out. The secret message contains the email address you need to use.

Good luck!

Re:4th Edition Question

sigzero on 2005-06-23T02:09:14

I guess I will buy it then since I did not read that book. : )

Hopefully the post-release ratings stay high :-)

babbage on 2005-06-22T21:02:56

So, out of idle curiosity, do reviewers get a copy? :-)

And do you still need reviewers for Intermediate Perl ? I sent in an email about helping with it but never heard back...

Re:Hopefully the post-release ratings stay high :-

brian_d_foy on 2005-06-22T21:31:35

I think we can work something out. :)

Re:Hopefully the post-release ratings stay high :-

brian_d_foy on 2005-06-23T02:32:21

Yes indeed, reviewers get a free copy. You should have got an mass email from me about that today, but if not ask me about it in private email and I'll give you the details.

Reviews of books that don't exist

drhyde on 2005-06-23T09:01:12

Reminds me of the reviews of Peter Hamilton's "Judas Unchained" on Amazon. He hadn't even finished writing the book when the first review appeared, giving it four out of five stars. The reviewer gave it four out of five because "... Hamilton just needs to wrap it up nicely and he'll have a 5* book out again ... but if he does slip up it will be a great disappointment and probably a 3*. Hence, before reading the book, I rate it 4* and look forward to it eagerly.".

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