"Learning Perl and CGI" is available to individuals at an introductory price of $149. To register for the course, go to training.oreilly.com or phone Michelle Koff of O'Reilly at 800/998-9938 (707/829-0515) or email training@oreilly.com. Educators and trainers can get more information on licensing "Learning Perl and CGI" and other O'Reilly/DES training courses by contacting Mike Willis (303-473-0807) or Joe Sinsheimer (303-573-1284).
"Learning Perl and CGI" was developed by O'Reilly and DES in cooperation with Dr. James C. Brancheau, Associate Professor of Information Systems at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and DigitalCreators, a pioneering online education development firm also based in Boulder. "Learning Perl and CGI" develops basic competency in the Perl programming language. The course focuses on using Perl to develop web-based Internet and intranet applications. Topics of study include Perl for Unix, Perl for Win32, CGI standards, HTML forms, scalar and array variables, control structures, file I/O, regular expressions, user-defined functions, formatted I/O, and running systems processes.
"Learning Perl and CGI" is the first in a series of ten DES/O'Reilly courses in the "Web Application Development Curriculum." All courses feature the following interactive technologies:
- Online Labs--Students are asked to answer programming or conceptual
questions periodically throughout the course, through server-based CGI
technology. They get immediate feedback on whether their answers are
correct or not, which promotes faster learning.
- Virtual Notebook--Students use the online Notebook feature to keep
their class notes on the server. At the end of the course they download
their notebook for future reference.
- Audio Teaching--Interspersed throughout the course are RealAudio
clips of the professor describing what the student is about to learn.
- Assessments--There are 16 learning units in "Learning Perl and CGI," each of which closes with an assessment. Individual students take the assessment and the answers are available on the server. Teachers and trainers can tailor the assessments to fit their virtual classroom needs and have students provide answers to the questions via email.
O'Reilly's "Learning Perl" (ISBN: 1-56592-284-0, 302 pages, $29.95 US) is the course's core textbook. "Programming Perl" (ISBN: 1-56592-149-6, 670 pages, $39.95 US) and "CGI Programming on the World Wide Web" (ISBN: 1-56592-168-2, 450 pages, $32.95 US) are the supplemental texts. The course is served onto the Web by XOR, a leading Internet Service Provider offering three non-redundant T-3s with two T-1 backups. The course is designed to flow seamlessly over a 28.8 modem.
O'REILLY & ASSOCIATES
O'Reilly & Associates is recognized worldwide for its definitive books
on open source software, the Internet, programming, Windows NT and
UNIX. From their pioneering bestseller The Whole Internet User's Guide
& Catalog (the book that introduced the Internet to the public) to GNN
(the first Internet portal and commercial website) to WebSite (the
first web server software for desktop PCs), O'Reilly has been at the
forefront of Internet development. Building on its expertise, O'Reilly
has also produced award-wining Internet software and innovative
web-based courses. The company's active support of open source software
(a.k.a. free software) extends beyond its publishing program. O'Reilly
has taken the lead in promoting and legitimizing open source software
by hosting the April, 1998 Open Source Summit and producing an annual
Perl Conference.
DIGITAL EDUCATION SYSTEMS
Digital Education Systems (DES) is a leading developer of web-based
courseware for the information training market. The company's product
offerings include full curricula in Web Applications Development,
Computer Networking and Telecommunications. Based in Boulder, Colorado,
DES is developing strategic partnerships with a variety of publishers,
higher education institutions and other training organizations to
ensure high-quality core content for its web-based courses. Digital
Education Systems products offer state-of-the-art interactivity and can
be offered over corporate intranets or directly from the Internet.
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