Overview of Perl Programming
Perl is a dynamic programming language very similar to C in many respects. It is used most widely in system administration, web site development (especially on the GUI side), and networking tasks. It is known to be a very straight-forward, easy to use programming language.
Because perl is used extensively in web development, it is a very popular language. Many companies, both large and small, use perl to write CGI scripts. These are the scripts that allow web applications to interact with the server.
History of Perl Programming
Perl was originally created by Larry Wall, a programmer then at Unisys Corporation. It was released in the later 80’s, went through several versions, and then went through a huge revision in the mid 1990’s and was re-released as Perl Version 5. This is the version currently being used, although Version 6 is in the works.
Learning Perl Programming
Perl is known as a relatively easy language to learn and to use. A knowledge of perl would be very useful for System Administrators (especially Unix and Unix-like operating systems) Network Administrators and would be a necessity for many Web Developers. Depending on your current fluency with programming languages, you may want to take a class at a local community college or university, or utilize online tutorials or distance learning courses. Some examples of the latter:
Companies Often Hiring Perl Programmers:
Other Popular Technical Skills
For information about other technical skills that are popular in the technology job market, check out the Career Skills List. Also make sure to visit the New Job Listings, which is updated weekly.