Short reference Perl / Python?

Question

I am fluent in perl / python scripts, but when writing code I often use google to find the exact order of the operands of some built-in function or the exact name of some function that I know exists. Although google works quite well, it does require some searches, and in about half the cases on the link page there are no suitable examples that I need.

Does anyone know of any good quick link for perl or python that will have most of the important usage information and basic examples in one place? Should I make my own? Or do most people use the IDE and don’t need such help? (I am using vim, BTW).

Thanks!

Answer 1

For Perl, he perldoc

 perldoc Module::Name # display docs for Module::Name perldoc -f substr # display docs for substr() perldoc -Q parse # search the FAQ for "parse" perldoc -v %+ # display docs for special variable %+ perldoc perlcheat # overview of most important syntax perldoc perl # overview of interesting perldoc pages 

Answer 2

In most well-written pythons, the code should have docstrings that provide information about modules and functions simply by entering help in the interpreter.

 >>> help(str) >>> (lots of helpful output here!) 

Answer 3

For perl, if you want something in your elbow, you cannot do better than the Perl Reference Guide / Perl Pocket Reference) by Johan Vromans. Print a PDF and copy it into a booklet or just pick it up in your local book the store. (Let's face it, a one-page short link is not enough for perl).

This has helped me for many years using perl ... until I switched to python :-)

For python, by the way, I just google docs at docs.python.org - or here in stackoverflow; The python syntax is what it is, when I look something up, I usually after a more detailed description than you can get out of the quick reference map.