Data Types
Numbers – http://www.tizag.com/perlT/perlnumbers.php
Strings – http://www.tizag.com/perlT/perlstrings.php
Why type doesn’t matter
Strong vs. Weak Quotes
Using Variables
Variables with a single value: scalars
$scalar
Variables holding a list of values: arrays
@array
Creating and populating arrays:
@months = (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec);
$array[0] # for instance $months[0] = Jan
$#array # gives array length minus 1 (0 based)
$#array_name # the length of the array
Variables holding a list of keys and values: hashes:
%hash
Creating and populating hashes:
%months_days = (Jan => 31, Feb => 28, Mar => 31, Apr => 30, May => 31, Jun => 30, Jul => 31, Aug => 31, Sep => 30, Oct => 31, Nov => 30, Dec => 31);
$hash{0} # for instance $months_days{“Jan”} = 31 # Notice that you use a scalar marker when referring to a single value in the hash
print $months_days{“Sep”}; # This prints 30
Resources
Beginner’s Intro to Perl by Doug Sheppard: Variables