Re: [Omaha.pm] perl

[Jay Hannah <jay@jays.net>]

On Nov 26, 2012, at 2:43 PM, "Klinkebiel, David L" <dklinkebiel@unmc.edu> wrote:
> I am truly going to finally start learning how to program in perl.

Excellent!  :)

> I will be using my home laptop to begin the process since I will be using my free time this winter to try and teach myself. I currently have Strawberry perl on that computer and it is functional, however have ran into various articles talking about using Eclipse/EPIC, Active State perl editor to better improve my odds. My plan is to uninstall Strawberry perl and install Active State. Then install Eclipse/EPIC that requires Java to be initially installed to function.

I don't use Windows so I don't use Strawberry nor Active State. I don't use Eclipse/EPIC, or any other fancy "rapid development environment." If you do want to use a fancy (fat/heavyweight) editor, you might also/alternatively try these:

   http://padre.perlide.org/
   http://www.activestate.com/komodo-ide

I ssh to Linux servers (usually Debian) or develop locally on OS X (Mac) and use the "vim" text editor. On Windows I use Notepad. I'm old school. :)

If I were you I'd either boot my laptop as Linux, or buy a cheap PC and install Debian on it. If you don't want to buy a separate PC, you could buy a dedicated "plug computer" with Debian on it:

   http://www.cyrius.com/debian/kirkwood/sheevaplug/plugs.html

I've never done that, but it looks cool.  :)

Some people do use Perl on Windows, but it's not common, especially in bioinformatics. 

> My problem is that I do not have internet at home unless I tether to my cell phone and I have only limited data. Therefore I want all of the functional software to not require connection to the internet to work.

The biggest problem you'll have there is that most Perl things tend to require software from CPAN, which usually lives on the Internet. Once you have all the software you need working offline is easy, but you're likely to hit new requirements as you develop things. You could, I suppose, try to get all your dependencies at work each day before you go home.

There are ways for you to take chunks of CPAN home with you on a USB drive, but that requires a lot of non-default monkeying to get working. Even then you kind of need to know what you're going to want.  :)

> I do not know if Java has to be linked to a web site to function as I have downloaded supposable stand alone installer file.

Once you install Java on your Windows or Debian workstation/server once, you should be fine. 

> My question, is this the best approach or is there another way. I have been collecting books and pdf files about perl and various example scripts to start reading. Thanks

The process of learning Perl should all work fine on Windows. It's when you start using BioPerl or other software packages with requirement trees that things might get dicey. Windows tends to be an after thought or not supported at all in the Perl-adjacent bioinformatics stack.

Note: As a guy who always uses Linux (or OS X), my perspective might be skewed / wrong.  :) 

I hope that helped. I cc'd the Omaha Perl Mongers group in case other people have thoughts / corrections for you.

Good luck! I'm happy to help, call me anytime.

j
402-598-7782