Siehe auch den deutschsprachigen Artikel zum Thema.

"Practice makes perfect!" a well-known (English) saying, that is often cited as an example for learning "Perl" as a programming language for complex web-applications. Although it's definitely necessary to deal with the practical side of programming languages, this postulation often seems to be a lame excuse of the experts. As in many cases, as well as in the case of "Perl", experts advice to practise, becausee sense-making methods for autodidacts rarely exist.

"Perl can learn, who's able to learn." In other words: "Autodidacts can learn Perl easily.".

Although literature exists in abundance, as far as I know, useful methods don't exist yet.

This article is based upon KUMON, a japanese teaching-method for maths, and wants to show a proceeding for studying Perl that meets the following criteria:

• studying step by step
• systematic and didactical planned learning units
• measurable results and intermediate results after every completed
  unit.
• constant and sustained success by completing the respective learning
  units.
• the possibility of individual progress without pressure of time.
• optionally: using group dynamics to full capacity without being
  inhibited by students who learn at a slower rate.

The KUMON-method serves all these advantages. The way KUMON works:

• There are exercise sheets for all different levels; generally multiple choice exercises.
• The "eager" (in the case of KUMON mostly school children) receive the exercise sheets, which suit their knowledge level and complete those.
• The students receive the following sheet not until they have completed the one before in permitted time and without any mistake.
• If there's just a single mistake, the exercise sheet has completely to be done again. This repetitive element in KUMON, seems to be irritating, but exactly through the use of this repetition it is possible to achieve sustained success.

What is needed for transferring the KUMON-method on learning "Perl":

• an extensive collection of exercise sheets for many different levels
• an application to measure the success on completing the exercise sheets (in permitted time without a single mistake)
• a central department that issues certificates on the accredited level of learning success (certificates can be used for applications, etc.)
• continuous development of learning units through the community of interested Perl-developers

An online-tutorial already exists. Although it doesn't contain learning- and examining units, SelfHTML by Stefan Münz, can be seen as a kind of standard work. You'd think it could be an expedient aim to establish a similar tutorial for developing the learning units, as the motivating element.

Maybe it is possible to establish a section with examining units for SelfHTML as well. The following underlines the importance of examining units for the learning progress:

• examining units mean control
• control means measurability
• measurability shows the learning efficience in a transparent and comprehensible way
• transparent learning efficience not only means earning money, but also progress, recognition and competition.
• accredited examining units motivate to increase the efficiency and continue the further education process.

If this is of any interest, you can contact me or visit one of the following discussion forums. Furthermore //SEIBERT/MEDIA offers sponsorship for a qualification-initiative of "Perl-developers". Such a sponsorship could for example consist of: the domain www.programmieren.de

discussion forums:

• German discussion at www.perl-community.de
• Notice in Wiki by Perl Mongers
• Discussion in openBC