Foreword When I first learned Perl more than a decade ago, I thought I knew the language pretty well; and indeed, I knew the language well enough. What I didn't know were the idioms and constructs that really give Perl its power. While it's perfectly possible to program without these, they represent a wealth of knowledge and productivity that is easily missed. Luckily for me, I had acquired the first edition of Joseph N. Hall's Effective Perl Programming, and it wasn't to be found in my bookshelf. Instead, it had an almost permanent place in my bag, where I could easily peruse it whenever I found a spare moment. Joseph's format for Effective Perl Programming was delightfully simple: small snippets of wisdom; easily digested. Indeed, it formed the original inspiration for our free Perl Tips (http://perltraining.com.au/tips/) newsletter, which continues to explore both Perl and its community. A lot can change in a language in ten years, but even more can change in the community's understanding of a language over that time. Conse- quentially, I was delighted to hear that not only was a second edition in the works, but that it was to be written by two of the most prominent mem- bers of the Perl community. To say that brian is devoted to Perl is like saying that the sun's corona is rather warm. brian has not only literally written volumes on the language, but also publishes a magazine (The Perl Review), manages Perl's FAQ, and is a constant and welcome presence on community sites devoted to both Perl and programming. Josh is best known for his efforts in running Perlcast, which has been pro- viding Perl news in audio form since 2005. Josh's abilities to consistently interview the brightest and most interesting people in the world not only make him an ideal accumulator of knowledge, but also have me very jealous. xi