Should I learn PERL?

[pathfinder74]

I have no clue about PERL or how it's used. But it's a course I can take for my degree.

My goals are to graduate and get a job as a Web DESIGNER and/or Digital Graphic Designer.

For my goals would this be something I should give serious consideration too?

[Jeff Mott]

If graphic design is your goal, then no, you shouldn't bother with Perl. You should work your semantic HTML and CSS skills up to an expert level; you may be called upon to implement your designs in code. But that's as much as you'll need for coding.

You should, however, research usability guidelines. There is a growing body of formal research into such details as where navigation menus should be placed, how much white-space a page should have, how to structure a site to fit a person's mental perception, etc. This kind of information will help you create successful designs.

[EvilCasey™]

No. More work for me.

[disgracian]

Perl is all back-end stuff, so no. If your focus is on the visual design of websites then you'll likely be creating the templates (CSS & bits of HTML) that the Perl CGI program uses to build the website.

Cheers,
D.

[PolyGreat]

If I had it to do over again, I would take more programming classes in general. (I only took two computer classes in college: Intro to Pascal, and a basic computing class for DOS, Windows 3.1, and Lotus 1-2-3. I obviously did not anticipate doing what I am doing.) There are just so many times when it is useful to write your own programs. HTML is extremely simple programming, javascript rather heavier, and Perl is power. I am now the webmaster for an organization low on budget (so far too cheap to even purchase a website creation software like Dreamweaver or FrontPage). I do everything in Notepad2. Our website, because of the little perl scripts that I have been able to embed wherever I like, has been compared against that of a sister organization which hired out their website to professionals, and because of which, now only is capable of updating the text on their pages. They have wished they could use the scripts too, but their layout is not so easily adjusted.

I would put it this way: You won't have time enough, in college, to learn everything you might need later. But if you haven't taken any programming classes at all, learn javascript or perl. If you have taken C++ or Visual Basic or similar, then just buy a good book like Perl Programming, and it will get you up to speed. If you aren't sure if you will truly ever use it, buy a book anyway, and dabble with it in your free time. If you find you enjoy the power of creating your very own scripts, take the class.

[bluestartech]

coding is much easier given a decent editor, no matter the language, notepad is quick and dirty, textpad is a nice replacement, syntax highlighting and many advanced editing options, eclipse is also nice...both are free, tho eclipse is more geared towards coding...
perl and a little knowledge of linux would be helpful for career in web design, just the basics of apache web server would cover you, coding can be useful for site maintenance, as opposed to web applications, and perl is a great tool for this...

Diarmuid
Web Design, Tipperary, Ireland. (http://www.bluestar.ie)

[PolyGreat]

coding is much easier given a decent editor, no matter the language, notepad is quick and dirty, textpad is a nice replacement, syntax highlighting and many advanced editing options, eclipse is also nice...both are free, tho eclipse is more geared towards coding...
perl and a little knowledge of linux would be helpful for career in web design, just the basics of apache web server would cover you, coding can be useful for site maintenance, as opposed to web applications, and perl is a great tool for this...

Diarmuid
Web Design, Tipperary, Ireland. (http://www.bluestar.ie)

I code perl with Notepad2. It's simply the best. It handles HTML and JavaScript too. It's a simple text editor, but it understands the syntax of those scripts well enough to do the highlighting for you. It can also convert from Unix/DOS line endings, show whitespace and line endings, etc. Very handy!

It even has a Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notepad2

Enjoy!