Re^2: How do you master Perl?

[Steve_p]

When I have gotten past the basics of a particular language, I start to think about other play projects I've worked on and try to decide how to reimplement them in the new language. Things I like to try are

• building a binary heap
• building a simple HTTP library
• implementing various sort algorithms
• parsing an RSS file

These kinds of little projects for me help me to get a gauge for what the language is like and what its strengths and weaknesses are. It also helps me to understand the gaps I currenly have in my understanding of that language.

[apotheon]

I know of another Steve that does the same thing. He wrote a module he called Node.pm and is now polishing up a rewrite of it in Ruby (Node.rb). I think he's rewriting UMENU in Ruby, too. That certainly strikes me as a good way to learn things in a new language: it provides a clear, simple benchmark against which to evaluate your progress.