Reviews for Embedding Perl in HTML with Mason

1. Actually, this is excellent

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2005

   I am surprised that the previous review has gone unchallenged for so long. Mason is an wonderful piece of software that is used by intelligent programemers to deliver large yet elegant web solutions (for example, amazon.com uses mason). This book, written by the creators of Mason, book is a perfect introduction and reference.

   I have been using Mason professionaly for three years, and this is the only book I ever needed. Mason has a thriving community and pretty much all of them would agree.

2. Misses the point

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, July 12nd, 2003

   I'm an experienced programmer and web developer and a great fan of the O'Reilly series, so I picked up this book expecting good things. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

   The book's structure and style do not provide a useful introduction to Mason for the beginner, nor is the book an easy-to-use reference when starting out; rather than helping inexperienced users avoid obstacles, it actually presents more. Unravelling the book is the greatest task I've faced yet in learning Perl and Mason. One particular problem I encountered was the introduction of seemingly random syntax and phrases (and standards) which are only explained four chapters later; the "cook-book quick start" approach is unfriendly, and confusing. Unnecessary complexity abounds from the very first pages, and the examples are bizarre and stumbling.

   Overall, while this book might be a useful reference (a la Nutshell) for people who already know Mason, it completely failes to deliver on what it should; a comprehensive, easy-to-follow introduction for developers new to the subject.

   A useful book if you know Mason, but otherwise only buy it if you like the pretty aqua colour of the spine.