13.4 Conclusion

13.4  Conclusion

This chapter briefly discusses how Perl can be used for scientific and engineering computation by introducing the Math::Cephes module. We simply discuss a few of the many functions available in this module. There are several other rich modules for scientific and engineering computation and those who are seriously interested in such topics should at least read up on the PDL and Math::Pari modules.

We wrap up our book on Perl with this chapter. Perl is a modern language with roots in Unix that explain a few quirkiness it possesses, e.g., the naming of variables. Perl is an extremely powerful language. Its core is very strong providing a capable foundation for a huge number of contributed modules that make it even more powerful and useful. Perl has a large number of enthusiastic developers, porters and well as users. Perl programs are easy to write and usually are fairly short compared to programs of comparable complexity in other languages. With proper care in coding, Perl programs can be easy to maintain, deploy and upgrade. This books has given a fairly in-depth overview of Perl’s varied capabilities although a lot more can be discussed. The interested reader is advised to go to the CPAN site, www.cpan.org and start additional journeys into the wonderful world of Perl.