First it’s worth mentioning that the authors of “Programming perl” are
the author of the Perl language itself (Larry Wall) and the main contributor to the perl documentation (Tom Christiansen)  so it’s a bit difficult to find more authoritative people to write such a book.

This book covers most aspects of the Perl language from a reference point of view, so it might not be well suited to beginners (who might prefer “Learning Perl” by Randall L Schwartz — another Perl Hero).

Reading this book is a lot like reading all of the Perl man pages and all of the perldoc documents, so let’s say this is a book I like to keep on my lap while programming in Perl.

It covers in great details topics like perl syntax, patterns, object programming, standard modules… over 1000+ pages which, I guess, makes it be a sort of Perl Bible.

I wouldn’t say it is a book you’ll have fun reading (even if the style is good) but it’s safe to bet that you’ll find an answer to most of your questions related to Perl.

Book review : “Programming Perl” by Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, Jon Orwant is a post from: Tech@Sakana - A sysadmin's blog

The book is divided in 8 chapters, each of them being focused on a specific mental capacity such as building a better memory (Chapter 1), improving your mental arithmetic (Chapter 7), or keeping your brain at the top of its sharpness by giving it an adequate workout (Chapter 8).

For people not already knowing the “Hacks” collection of O’Reilly, each hack is a practical and immediately usable tool, which will help in your day to day life.

For example, in the Chapter 1 about memory, you will learn how to easily remember a list of 10 things by making helpful mental associations that your brain is likely to remember. In Chapter 2, about information processing, you’ll learn to use mindmaps to organize your ideas. In chapter 7, about maths, you’ll learn to use your hands like an abacus.

Many of the hacks contain a “How it works” paragraph which looks at how the brain works to explain why the hack works. Quite interesting !

The author has a clear style, really few of the hacks didn’t really make sense to me, so all in all it is really an interesting book which I would happily recommand to anyone.

Book facts :

• Author : Ron Hale-Evans
• Title : Mind Performance Hacks : Tips and tools for overclocking your brain
• Editor : O’Reilly
• 75 Hacks
• 8 Chapters (Memory, Information processing, Creativity, Maths, Decision making, Communication, Clarity, Mental fitness)
• 309 pages
• ISBN : 0-596-10153-8

Buy from Amazon.com

Read more :

• Create Mind Maps with MindMeister

Book review : “Mind Performance Hacks”, Ron Hale-Evans, O’Reilly is a post from: Tech@Sakana - A sysadmin's blog