With a loose structure that allows for fast and easy coding, the Perl programming language is the most widely used scripting language in bioinformatics. Working on the assumption that the reader has never had any formal training in programming, and using examples geared toward real problems faced by biologists, Perl Programming for Biologists serves as an accessible, introductory reference for teaching Perl programming.

Curtis Jamison's innovative text introduces basi c elements of computer science and software engineering in an abbreviated format, building toward a bioinformatics users's guide for Perl. Each chapter opens with a set of learning objectives, provides numerous review questions and self-study exercises, and concludes with a bulleted summary of key points. Jamison incorporates numerous real-life examples throughout to illustrate how Perl is used to solve biological problems, offering valuable code fragments that the current practitioner can recycle into his or her own program. Divided into sections on basic, intermediate, and advanced-level Perl, the book includes chapters on:

• Variables and data types
• Arrays and hashes
• Control structures
• Subroutines
• String manipulation
• Object-oriented programming

Upon completing the book, readers will be able to quickly perform such tasks as correcting recurring errors in spreadsheets, scanning a Fasta sequence for every occurrence of an EcoRI site, adapting other writers' scripts to one's own purposes, and most important, writing reusable and maintainable scripts that will spare the rote repetition of code. Upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, biologists, and other life scientists will find Perl Programming for Biologists to be an essential resource.