Press releases

LEARN PERL ONLINE WITH O'REILLY'S AND DES'S WEB-BASED COURSES

Press release: May 11, 1998

SEBASTOPOL, CA--O'Reilly & Associates and Digital Education Systems (DES) have released "Learning Perl and CGI," the first course in their Web-based "Web Application Development Curriculum." The course is available to individuals who want to learn the popular Perl scripting language on their own, as well as to educators and trainers who wish to use "Learning Perl and CGI" as a component of classroom or distance learning courses. A full course description and registration information are at training.oreilly.com.

"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.

About O’Reilly

For over 40 years, O’Reilly has provided technology and business training, knowledge, and insight to help companies succeed. Our unique network of experts and innovators share their knowledge and expertise through the company’s SaaS-based training and learning platform. O’Reilly delivers highly topical and comprehensive technology and business learning solutions to millions of users across enterprise, consumer, and university channels. For more information, visit www.oreilly.com.

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