Perl Coding Basics: Learn to Script from Scratch

Name: Perl Coding Basics: Learn to Script from Scratch
Rating: 5.0 (5 reviews)

Master Perl fundamentals — variables, regex, file I/O, and data structures — through hands-on code examples

New

Created byProgLang MainSt.

Last updated 4/2026

English

What you'll learn

Write and run Perl scripts using scalar variables, operators, and string interpolation
Control program flow with if/elsif/else, unless, while, for, and foreach constructs
Store and manipulate ordered data using Perl arrays and built-in array functions
Use hashes for fast key-value lookups and iterate over their contents
Write reusable subroutines with proper argument handling and lexical scoping
Match, extract, and replace text patterns using Perl regular expressions
Read from and write to files using filehandles and the open function
Handle errors gracefully with die, warn, and eval
Build complex nested data structures using references in Perl
Leverage core Perl modules to extend your scripts with minimal effort

Course content

5 sections • 31 lectures • 6h 10m total length

Hello World and Print Statements11:55
Learn how to use Perl's print and say functions to display text to the screen. Discover how Perl handles string literals, how to include newline characters, and the difference between single-quoted and double-quoted strings when it comes to interpolation.
Scalar Variables and Assignment12:38
Walk through declaring scalar variables with the dollar sign sigil, assigning both string and numeric values, and understanding how Perl treats context to decide whether something is a number or a piece of text.
Arithmetic and Numeric Operators13:48
Covers the standard arithmetic operators in Perl — addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, modulus, and exponentiation. Learn about increment and decrement shorthand operators that make updating counters a breeze.
String Operators and Concatenation11:20
Learn how to use the dot operator for concatenation and the x operator for string repetition in Perl. Explore string comparison operators like eq, ne, lt, and gt, which behave differently from their numeric cousins.
String Interpolation and Escape Sequences12:07
Dive into string interpolation in Perl, showing how to weave variable values into output without clunky concatenation. Explore essential escape sequences like tab, newline, and backslash for fine control over text formatting.
User Input with STDIN11:02
Learn how to read user input from the standard input stream using Perl's angle bracket operator on STDIN. Discover why the chomp function is essential for stripping trailing newlines from input.

If, Elsif, and Else Conditionals14:19
Learn how to write conditional blocks in Perl that evaluate boolean expressions and execute different code depending on the result. Work with numeric and string comparison operators inside conditions.
Unless and Statement Modifiers10:37
Introduces the unless conditional in Perl, which executes a block only when a condition is false. Learn about Perl's statement modifiers that let you append conditions to the end of a single line for cleaner code.
While and Until Loops11:25
Covers both while and its mirror image until, which loops as long as a condition is false. Learn how to set up loop conditions, avoid infinite loops, and use loop control to process data repeatedly in Perl.
For and Foreach Loops12:27
Learn the syntax and use cases for both C-style for loops and foreach in Perl, including how to iterate over ranges with the range operator. Write Perl code that cycles through sequences of numbers and collections.
Loop Control with Next and Last11:06
Learn how to use Perl's next keyword to skip to the following iteration and the last keyword to break out of a loop entirely. Also meet the redo keyword, which restarts the current iteration.
The Ternary Operator and Short-Circuit Logic10:12
Explores the ternary conditional operator for choosing between two values in a single expression in Perl. Learn about short-circuit evaluation with logical and/or operators for setting defaults and guarding against errors.

Creating and Accessing Arrays10:48
Learn how to create arrays using the at-sign sigil, populate them with values, and access individual elements by their numeric index. Understand zero-indexing, negative indices, and how to find the last index with $#array.
Array Manipulation with Push, Pop, Shift, and Unshift12:30
Covers push and pop for adding and removing elements at the end of a Perl array, plus shift and unshift for the beginning. Also learn about splice for inserting or removing elements at arbitrary positions.
Array Slices and the Sort Function11:12
Learn how to extract array slices in Perl by specifying a list of indices. Also learn how to reorder arrays using Perl's sort function, including custom sort comparisons with the spaceship operator and cmp.
Hashes — Key-Value Pairs11:15
Learn how to create and use hashes in Perl with the percent-sign sigil, assign key-value pairs, and retrieve values by their keys. See how Perl hashes provide lightning-fast lookups for structured data.
Hash Functions — Keys, Values, and Each13:54
Introduces the keys, values, and each functions for inspecting and iterating over Perl hashes. Learn how to check whether a key exists with the exists function and remove entries with delete.
Iterating Over Arrays and Hashes9:44
Focus on using foreach to iterate over arrays and hashes in Perl, including how the default variable $_ simplifies your loop bodies. Learn idiomatic patterns that experienced Perl developers use every day.
The Wantarray Function and List Context11:22
Explains the difference between scalar context and list context in Perl, and how functions can detect which context they were called in using wantarray. See how the same expression can return different results.

Writing and Calling Subroutines11:51
Learn how to define subroutines in Perl using the sub keyword, pass arguments through the special @_ array, and return values to the caller. Write subroutines that accept inputs, process them, and hand back results.
Variable Scope with My and Local13:27
Explains variable scoping in Perl, focusing on the my keyword for creating lexically scoped variables. Also learn about local for temporarily overriding globals, and why my is almost always the right choice.
Basic Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions11:23
Learn the basics of Perl regex using the binding operator and simple patterns. Match literal strings, use character classes, and apply quantifiers like asterisk, plus sign, and question mark.
Regex Anchors and Metacharacters13:09
Covers anchors in Perl regular expressions including caret for start and dollar sign for end. Explore metacharacters like the dot, word boundary marker, and digit and whitespace shorthand classes.
Capture Groups and Substitution11:18
Learn how to use parenthetical capture groups in Perl regex to grab specific portions of a match. Master the substitution operator for finding a pattern and replacing it with new text in one operation.
Regex Modifiers and Quantifier Greediness13:16
Learn about the global modifier for matching all occurrences, case-insensitive modifier, and multiline modifier. Explore greedy vs non-greedy quantifiers to control match length in Perl regex.
Split and Join for String Processing10:46
Learn how to use split in Perl to divide a string into an array based on a delimiter or regex pattern, and join to glue array elements back together with a separator. Parse delimited data and reconstruct output.

Writing and Appending to Files12:52
Covers opening files for writing and appending in Perl using the appropriate mode symbols with the open function. Learn how to print to a filehandle and safely overwrite versus append to existing files.
Error Handling with Die, Warn, and Eval9:04
Explores Perl's error handling mechanisms: die for fatal errors and warn for non-fatal warnings. Learn how to use eval as a basic try-catch mechanism, trapping errors in $@ so your script can recover.
References and Anonymous Data Structures14:05
Introduces the backslash operator for creating references in Perl, the arrow operator for dereferencing, and syntax for anonymous arrays and hashes. See how references unlock complex nested data structures.
Working with Perl Modules12:45
Learn how to load Perl modules with the use statement, call their exported functions, and understand namespaces. Explore core modules like File::Basename and List::Util that ship with every Perl installation.
Hash and Array References in Nested Structures12:41
Focus on creating and navigating nested structures like arrays of hashes and hashes of arrays in Perl. Model real-world data and practice accessing deeply nested values using the arrow operator.

Requirements

Basic understanding of programming concepts like variables, loops, and functions in any language
Comfort using a text editor to write and save code files
Access to a computer with Perl installed or a cloud-based coding environment
Familiarity with running commands in a terminal or command line

Description

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Perl has powered everything from system administration scripts to bioinformatics pipelines for over three decades, and it remains one of the most practical languages for text processing and rapid automation. Whether you are wrangling log files, parsing data feeds, or automating repetitive tasks, Perl's expressive syntax and legendary regular expression support make it the right tool for the job.

This course walks you through Perl from the very first print statement to building nested data structures and working with files. You will begin with scalar variables, operators, and string interpolation, then move into control flow with conditionals and loops. From there, you will master Perl's powerful aggregate data types — arrays and hashes — learning how to store, sort, slice, and iterate over collections of data. The course then introduces subroutines for code reuse and dives deep into Perl's world-famous regular expressions, covering pattern matching, capture groups, substitutions, and modifiers. Finally, you will learn file input and output, error handling, references for building complex nested structures, and how to leverage Perl's extensive module ecosystem.

This course is designed for beginners who have some basic familiarity with programming concepts but are new to Perl. By the end, you will be able to write clean, idiomatic Perl scripts that read and write files, process text with regular expressions, organize logic into subroutines, and work with multi-dimensional data structures.

What sets this course apart is its relentless focus on practical, runnable code over theory. Every lecture teaches exactly one concept with a clear example, so you are never overwhelmed and always making progress. Hit enroll and start writing Perl that actually does something today.

Who this course is for:

Beginners who know another language and want to add Perl to their toolkit
System administrators looking to automate tasks with Perl scripting
Data analysts who need to process and transform text files efficiently
Students or hobbyists curious about one of the most influential scripting languages
Developers maintaining or extending legacy Perl codebases who need a solid foundation

Perl Coding Basics: Learn to Script from Scratch

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Your First Steps with Perl6 lectures • 1hr 13min

Controlling the Flow6 lectures • 1hr 10min

Arrays and Hashes — Perl's Power Structures7 lectures • 1hr 21min

Subroutines and Regular Expressions7 lectures • 1hr 25min

File Handling and Beyond5 lectures • 1hr 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: