Hi Safi!
On Friday 13 March 2009 17:44:16 Safi Newman wrote:
> Dear Shlomi,
>
> I tried posting this reply to the list yesterday, but am having some
> problems (I have emailed the list owner). In the meantime, I thought I
> would email you directly:
I see, thanks. Maybe it's because you sent an HTML-only email, that was more
likely to be classified as spam. I also got the following SpamAssassin
classification of it (which was not enough for it to end up in my spam folder,
but still offending):
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.2.5 (2008-06-10) on
telaviv1.shlomifish.org
X-Spam-Level: **
X-Spam-Status: No, score=2.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_50,HTML_MESSAGE,
HTML_MIME_NO_HTML_TAG,MIME_HTML_ONLY,RDNS_DYNAMIC,SPF_NEUTRAL,
UNPARSEABLE_RELAY autolearn=no version=3.2.5
}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
>
>
> As someone who is trying to teach herself Perl by using hardcopy books,
> online tutorials, asking a friend who is a computer
> professional/instructor, and by lurking on this list, I would say that I
> know the O'Reilly books are highly rated by programmers and I have looked
> at them, but I have always found them difficult if not impossible to learn
> from -- they *assume* you are already a programmer, understand the
> concepts, needing only to concisely get down to the nitty-gritty.
OK.
> I got the
> Sam's book, started working my way through it, but pretty much stay away
> from it now -- on page 51/listing3.3, an example is provided of the last
> statement -- unfortunately it is also the first time a nested loop is used
> (without any explanation at all), and if I told you how long I banged my
> head against that one ...
I see. My pupil may find it more obvious. Did you detect any important mis-
information or dis-information in the Sams' book?
>
> I usually find the Wrox books, Programmer to Programmer, most helpful in
> walking you through all the steps (currently working my way through their
> Perl Programming and their Regular Expressions books). My
> computer-instructor friend dislikes them *because* they walk through all
> the steps (but, then, he's been programming for over 30 years and umpteen
> languages ).
>
I see. Well, alternative books' recommendations are not really the problem, as
I can always recommend her to buy/print Beginning Perl or Learning Perl or
whatever. I just want to know whether the Sams/"in 21 days" should be avoided.
> I don't know how experienced your friend is. Although I've been a computer
> support professional (PC and MAC) for over ten years, I find programming to
> demand a completely different skill/headset. I'm not saying I'm giving up,
> just that it is a definite struggle as many of the materials I've looked at
> assume what really needs, for a beginner, to be explained.
Well, I'd rather not tell too much about her for confidentiality reasons. But
thanks for your email.
Regards,
Shlomi Fish
>
> HTH,
> Safi Newman
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