> How's the best way to get the most out of studying and
> studying source code? I'm always reading that looking
> at source code (and coding in general) is the best way
> to learn to program.
The best way is to join a programming project, and learn
the required aspects of the language you need to do part
of the project.
Studying other peoples Perl code is probably a Bad Thing,
since Perl doesn't enforce any style, design, efficency
or robustness on the programmer.
If you don't feel quite ready to attemp a programming
project with others, try using Perl for something smaller.
An example might be to try CGI scripting for your homepage,
using the free cgi-bin directories some ISPs offer. Try
doing things with a purpose, you'll enjoy it far more that
way. Programming until 3 am doesn't sound enjoyable until
you know what it's like to be engrossed in a project, being
"almost finished/debugged" :)
> I'm taking stuff of the net and going through it and
> trying to make sure I can "read" it and trying
> to see what it does. Is this the correct method?
Not in my opinion. As above, many perl scripts available
I wouldn't want to touch with a barge pole.
> Then, I review what I've learned in the past by writing
> practice exercises which make use of whatever I'm focusing
> on (ex., control statements, arrays, etc.).
Good. Learn how to use 'perldoc'.
> These are similar to technical exercises that a musician
> does and I'm doing because I'm in the learning stages of
> the language.
Keep perl REALLY close.
> I then try to study code but it's usually beyond me.
Don't, not yet. Learn to study code by practice, only
ONCE you understand the language. E.g. this is a construct
you might come across, and is one of my favourites:
my %stuff = {
'first' => \&first,
'second' => \&second
};
$stuff{$item}->(@_);
It is simple, yet complicated if you don't understand the
Perl way of doing things - and it's operators.
> I feel frustrated at times because I'm putting in the time
> (2-3 hours daily) but I feel like I'm inefficient and that
> others would get more out of my sessions than me.
I got paid to learn, as a summer student. I also felt bad
because I spent so much time learning, not producing. The
effort required to learn a subsequent language, or a module
of Perl will be must less over time - and your efforts start
to really pay off.
2-3 hours isn't much at a keyboard, but far too long with a
book. IMHO.
Anyway, keep at it!
Jonathan Paton
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