UNIX and Perl to the Rescue!: A Field Guide for the Life Sciences (and Other Data-rich Pursuits) [Hardcover]

An accessible guide to learning the key features of Unix and Perl, written with the non-programmer in mind.Written in a fun, accessible style, this step-by-step guide teaches non-programmers the key aspects of Unix and Perl. No prior experience is required and new concepts are introduced using code examples for readers to try themselves. Essential reading for those who want to work more effectively with large data sets.Written in a fun, accessible style, this step-by-step guide teaches non-programmers the key aspects of Unix and Perl. No prior experience is required and new concepts are introduced using code examples for readers to try themselves. Essential reading for those who want to work more effectively with large data sets.Your research has generated gigabytes of data and now you need to analyse it. You hate using spreadsheets but it is all you know, so what else can you do? This book will transform how you work with large and complex data sets, teaching you powerful programming tools for slicing and dicing data to suit your needs. Written in a fun and accessible style, this step-by-step guide will inspire and inform non-programmers about the essential aspects of Unix and Perl. It shows how, with just a little programming knowledge, you can write programs that could save you hours, or even days. No prior experience is required and new concepts are introduced using numerous code examples that you can try out for yourself. Going beyond the basics, the authors touch upon many broader topics that will help those new to programming, including debugging and how to write in a good programming style. Follow the book on Twitter at: @unixandperl.Part I. Introduction and Background: 1. Introduction; 2. How to use this book; Part II. Installing Unix and Perl: 3. What do I need in order to learn Unix and Perl?; 4. Installing Linux on a PC; 5. Installing a code editor; Part III. Essential Unix: 6. Introduction to Unix; 7. The Unix terminal; 8. The Unix command prompt; 9. Yol#~