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{{distinguish|Programming Pearls}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Programming Perl
| image = File:ProgrammingPerl.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = [[Larry Wall]], [[Randal L. Schwartz]],
| title_orig = 
| publisher = [[O'Reilly Media]]
| pub_date = 1991
| media_type = Print, Ebook
| pages = 1184
| isbn = 978-0-596-00492-7 |isbn_note= (print), 978-1-4493-9890-3 (ebook)
}}

'''''Programming Perl''''', best known as the '''Camel Book''' among [[programmer]]s,<ref name="Hughes">{{cite web|url=https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/1366|title=Programming Perl|last=Hughes|first=Phil|publisher=[[Linux Journal]]|date=1 March 1997|access-date=12 March 2021}}</ref> is a book about writing programs using the [[Perl]] [[programming language]], revised as several editions (1991–2012) to reflect major language changes since Perl version 4. Editions have been co-written by the creator of Perl, [[Larry Wall]], along with [[Randal L. Schwartz]], then [[Tom Christiansen]] and then Jon Orwant. Published by [[O'Reilly Media]], the book is considered the canonical reference work for Perl programmers. With over 1,000 pages, the various editions contain complete descriptions of each Perl language version and its [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreter]]. Examples range from trivial [[Snippet (programming)|code snippets]] to the highly complex [[Expression (computer science)|expressions]] for which Perl is widely known. The camel book editions are also noted for being written in an approachable and humorous style.

==History==
The first edition, which gained the nickname "the pink camel" due to its pink spine, was originally published in January 1991 and covered version 4 of the Perl language. It was the work of Larry Wall and Randal L. Schwartz. The second edition, published in August 1996, included updates for the release of [[Perl#Early Perl 5|Perl 5]], among them [[Reference (computer science)|references]], [[Object (object-oriented programming)|objects]], [[Modular programming|packages]] and other modern programming constructs.<ref name="Hughes" /> This edition was written from scratch by the original authors and Tom Christiansen.<ref name="Hughes" /> In July 2000, the third edition of ''Programming Perl'' was published. This version was again rewritten, this time by Wall, Christiansen and Jon Orwant, and covered the Perl 5.6 language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/4345|title=Programming Perl, Third Edition|last=Barry|first=Paul|publisher=Linux Journal|date=1 December 2000|access-date=12 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-perl5.html?dwzone=linux|title=Cultured Perl: Review of Programming Perl, Third Edition|last=Zlatanov|first=Teodor|publisher=DeveloperWorks|date=September 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010518194934/http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-perl5.html?dwzone=linux|archive-date=18 May 2001}}</ref> The fourth edition constitutes a major update and rewrite of the book for Perl version 5.14, and improves the coverage of [[Unicode]] usage in Perl. The fourth edition was published in February 2012. This edition is written by Tom Christiansen, [[brian d foy]], Larry Wall and Jon Orwant.

''Programming Perl'' has also been made available electronically by O'Reilly, both through its inclusion in various editions of ''The Perl CD Bookshelf'' and through the "[[Safari (ebooks)|Safari]]" service (a subscription-based website containing technical [[ebook]]s). The publisher offers online a free sample of Chapter 18 of the third edition [https://web.archive.org/web/20040215161250/http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/pperl3/chapter/ch18.html] and the Chapter 1 of the fourth edition [http://cdn.oreilly.com/oreilly/booksamplers/9780596004927_sampler.pdf] as well as the complete set of code examples in the book (third edition) [http://examples.oreilly.com/pperl3/]. O'Reilly maintains a trademark on the use of a camel in association with Perl, but allows noncommercial use.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perl.org/camel.html|title=The Perl Camel}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/perl/usage|title=The Perl Camel FAQ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425080044/http://archive.oreilly.com/pub/a/oreilly/perl/usage|archive-date=2018-04-25}}</ref>

==Editions==
* First edition (1991; 482 pages; covers Perl 4; {{ISBN|978-0-937175-64-4}})
* Second edition (1996; 670 pages; covers Perl 5.003; {{ISBN|978-1-56592-149-8}})
* Third edition (2000; 1104 pages; covers Perl 5.6; {{ISBN|978-0-596-00027-1}})
* Fourth edition (2012; 1184 pages; covers Perl 5.14; {{ISBN|978-0-596-00492-7}})

The second edition of the book was the best-selling book in the O'Reilly Media catalog in 1996, and one of the top 100 selling books in any category at [[Borders (retailer)|Borders]] in 1996.<ref>{{cite interview|url=https://www.econtalk.org/tim-oreilly-on-technology-and-work/|title=Tim O'Reilly on technology and work|interviewer=Russ Roberts|last=O'Reilly|first=Tim|subject-link=Tim O'Reilly|work=EconTalk|publisher=The Library of Economics and Liberty|date=5 October 2015|accessdate=12 March 2021|at=8:10-8:50}}</ref>

In 1998 the second edition was the 58th bestselling book at Amazon, just ahead of [[Bjarne Stroustrup]]'s [[The C++ Programming Language]] third edition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1998 |title=Amazon Best Sellers of 1998 |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/1998/books/ref=zg_bsar_pg_2_books/ref=zg_bsar_pg_2_books?ie=UTF8&pg=2 |access-date=20 August 2024 |website=Amazon UK}}</ref>

==See also==
* Some related books published by O'Reilly are: ''[[Learning Perl]]'', ''[[Intermediate Perl]]'', and ''[[Mastering Perl]]''.
* The "Three Virtues of a Programmer" are three entries in the Glossary of the 2nd edition of the book, which have been popularized outside the Perl programming community.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596004927.do Programming Perl, 4th Edition]
* [http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/programming/perl/9781449321451 Preview or read online (4th edition)] at [[Safari Books Online]] (subscription required)
* [http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/books/reviews/programmingperl.html Review of Programming Perl, 3rd Edition]

[[Category:1991 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:1996 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:2000 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:2012 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:O'Reilly Media books]]
[[Category:Books about Perl]]
[[Category:Computer programming books]]

Programming Perl - Revision history

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