Is it feasible to learn Perl and Catalyst at the same time?

Question

Is it feasible to learn Perl and Catalyst at the same time? If so, what would be the typical path?

I am experienced .Net/C#/C++ developer but fairly new to Perl

Answer 1

Catalyst is a web framework in Perl which does use some advanced concepts in Perl like attributes, references, et cetera. Perl should be learnt first. When you are comfortable with Perl, you can dive into Catalyst.

For learning Perl, you can check out http://learn.perl.org/. There are lots of Perl Mongers websites as well. You may be able to find a community near your area too!

Also do surf on to Perl Monks.

Answer 2

Start right away with a gentle Catalyst tutorial, with some beginner's Perl tutorials/references handy. Coming from C#/C++ you will have a few surprises with Perl, but not enough to worry about. Perl is typically distributed with much documentation, and it's invaluable. So I feel you can pick up on Perl as you learn Catalyst, and then learn deeper Perl skills later.

Answer 3

In the book, coming out on the 12th of july 2009, we recommend that you're familiar with Perl data types, references, and objects. The best free sources I came up with for learning about this stuff are the Perlmonks tutorials, especially the one on references.

If you're an experienced programmer just getting into perl then Catalyst is quite a good way to learn how to program disciplined, structured, object oriented Perl.

Other than that, as dwc says the tutorial is pretty good.

Answer 4

The most important thing to remember to always:

use strict;
use warnings;

at the beginning of all Perl files.

(at least until you know why)