A few assumptions

Alright, the fun is about to start.
Sorry for delaying the actual Perl programming part of this blog and thank you for your patience. I just wanted to make sure that I would actually have an audience before starting head first. Now that Google analytics is installed (more in a later post), I'll be able to monitor how many people come and pay me a visit! If you don't want to miss any post, please consider subscribing to this blog (links to the right). For Firefox users, I recommend the Sage feed reader (I like it).

I am monitoring the comments by email so even if you drop a line or two on a previous post, I will be seeing it (and possibly replying to it in time).

I am going to make a few assumptions about my readership. Please correct me if I'm wrong:

1. Some of you have no experience in programming, or very little.
2. You like to learn by getting your hands dirty: no lengthy and theoretical lecture but practice on subjects that interest you.
3. You think adding Perl in your toolbox can help you with your computer skills. Improve your blog, parse web pages and add a line to your resume while having fun!
   
4. You know how to use a computer. You can open a directory to check for files and use the basic features of your operating system.

Side note for Linux users:
Perl is present in most standard Linux distributions. In order to check the Perl version that you are using, open a terminal and type:
perl -v
Typing
which perl
will show in which directory the Perl interpreter is located.

From now on, I will also assume that:

5. You are using a Windows operating system (Vista, XP, NT or 98). I am personally using Vista. Google analytics tells me that most of you use Windows, except for the one person who surfs on his iPhone. I know who you are!

Perl is a very portable language and I will do my best to write scripts that run on both Windows and Linux (and possibly Mac).

The first exercize is to choose and download a Perl distribution for Windows. We have two main options:

• ActivePerl from ActiveState
• Strawberry Perl

I let you research the web for the distribution that you prefer. Both are free.
I already have my opinion on the question but I would like your take on the subject.
I will open a second poll in the right-hand side of this post for you, or you can just leave a comment. I will go with the popular vote.

French word of the day:
"une découverte": a discovery

Next posts:

• What's that Blogroll thing that you added?
• How to get Perl and set up your Windows environment?
• How to install Google Analytics on your Blogger blog
  
• Hello World program
• How to publicize your blog - Part II
• First version of FileInfo script