Master one of the most powerful scripting languages ever built - and connect it to the AI tools reshaping automation in 2026. Perl Programming with AI is the complete beginner-to-practitioner guide for developers who want to learn Perl and apply it to real-world scripting, data processing, system administration, and modern AI integration. Written for 2026, this book takes you from your very first Perl script all the way to building intelligent automation pipelines, AI-powered text processors, and smart monitoring systems.
Perl has been running production infrastructure since 1987 - and it is still there today, powering DevOps pipelines, log analysis systems, network monitoring tools, bioinformatics workflows, and data transformation engines that process billions of records. Author Thomas Scott teaches Perl the way professionals actually use it: practical, flexible, and built for the messy real-world work that keeps systems running.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
- Perl fundamentals: variables, scalars, arrays, hashes, operators, and control flow
- Functions, modular programming, and Perl's unique "there is more than one way to do it" philosophy
- String processing and Perl's legendary regular expression engine - the most powerful in any mainstream language
- File handling, data processing, error handling, and debugging
- Working with CPAN - over 200,000 modules covering almost every programming need imaginable
- Object-oriented Perl, JSON handling, and working with APIs
- Clean, maintainable code and performance optimisation
- Advanced topics: references, data structures, networking, socket programming, and database access
- Automation and scripting workflows, multithreading, web scraping, and security best practices
- Building scalable Perl applications for production environments
- AI-assisted development: using AI tools to write, debug, and extend Perl scripts
- Integrating AI APIs and working with OpenAI and LLMs directly from Perl
- Prompt engineering techniques for Perl-based AI automation
- Building intelligent data processing pipelines and AI-driven system administration tools
- Five complete real-world projects: a log analysis tool, an AI-powered text summarizer, an automated data extraction pipeline, a smart monitoring script, and an AI-assisted report generator
WHY THIS BOOK:
Perl is not a language you learn because it is trendy. You learn it because it is genuinely the best tool for a specific set of problems - and those problems are everywhere. Text parsing, log analysis, data transformation, system automation, and network monitoring are the unglamorous backbone of modern infrastructure, and Perl handles all of it better than almost any other language. In 2026, that power is extended further by AI integration, allowing Perl scripts to summarize, classify, generate, and reason - not just process.
Covers Perl 5.36 and later, with CPAN module recommendations throughout.
Includes comprehensive appendices covering Perl quick reference, essential CPAN modules, a debugging checklist, a regex quick reference, a performance checklist, a full glossary, and recommended learning resources.
Perfect for: developers new to Perl, system administrators who want to modernise legacy scripts, DevOps engineers, data engineers working with text-heavy pipelines, and anyone who needs to automate serious work and connect it to AI services.
