[Omaha.pm] perl

[Nick Wertzberger]

Cygwin is a decent Linux alternative
On Nov 26, 2012 8:37 PM, "Jay Hannah" <jay at jays.net> wrote:

> On Nov 26, 2012, at 2:43 PM, "Klinkebiel, David L" <dklinkebiel at 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
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Omaha-pm mailing list
> Omaha-pm at pm.org
> http://mail.pm.org/mailman/listinfo/omaha-pm
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.pm.org/pipermail/omaha-pm/attachments/20121127/f0bc3f23/attachment-0001.html>