Perl programmer for hire: download my resume (PDF).
John Bokma Perl
freelance Perl programmer

Perl help in exchange for books

Outsource in exchange for some books | 0 comments

Are you looking for an experienced and professional Perl programmer who

In short: someone who can do your Perl programming? Stop looking, and read on...

How does Perl help in exchange for a books work?

If you want to take me up on this offer - Perl help in exchange for books - contact me with a clear description of what you want me to program or explain to you. I will try to reply as soon as possible, often within 24 hours. However, since I might be quite busy with a Perl assignment as a professional Perl programmer, it is possible that you will receive a reply after 24 hours but most of the time within 72 hours. If you need urgent help, please put URGENT at the start of the subject of your email message.

If your description of the problem is clear, I will reply to you which book (or books) on my Wish List I prefer to receive in return. I try to make a fair estimate, so please consider this list non-negotiable. Currently my wish list is at Amazon, which makes it very easy for you to order each book. Moreover, Amazon takes care of the shipping and handling. If a book doesn't arrive at my home address - which sadly does happen now and then - I can contact Amazon directly without bothering you.

If your description is not clear, I will reply with one or more questions which hopefully will clarify the description. Note that I prefer not to discuss a problem via an instant message program, so please be as clear as possible in your email(s). I prefer if you reply by quoting my email, and typing a reply to a question directly underneath the quoted question.

Besides writing a Perl program for you, I can also review Perl code you have written. Moreover, if you consider a part of Perl programming hard to understand I might be able to write a small tutorial to get you started on learning an advanced Perl topic.

If you want me to review Perl code, make very sure that you have the following two lines near the beginning of your program:

use strict;
use warnings;

If your Perl program has a reproducible problem and you want me to help you with solving it then try to bring it down to the smallest version that has the problem.

Note that I probably can't debug, improve, or extend a Perl program you have downloaded from a site on the Internet unless the Perl code is of high quality.

Examples of Perl help and what I might ask in return

Note: the approximate price given in each examples don't include handling by Amazon and shipping to my home address in Mexico:

Several of the books I have received so far.
Several of the books I have received so far.

In the above photo you can see several of the books and other items I have received so far in exchange for help with Perl. As you can see, I have selected many books to improve my Perl programming skills even more.

Isn't this cheating?

Helping someone with homework, school project, graduation project, or even when stuck at work might sound like cheating. First: this is not up to me to decide; if a student asks me to do his or her homework I will do so - I might not even be aware if its homework. But the student must be very aware that the quality of the Perl program might raise questions; hence must be prepared to answer those questions. In the end this means that the student must thoroughly understand the Perl solution I have provided, must be able to make small modifications to the program, etc.

Second: the requirements for a programming project, at least the ones I have seen so far, are often incomplete, and raise several (and sometimes a lot) of additional questions, to which I need answers in order to be able to write the Perl program. It's not just a matter of copy pasting the requirements in an email in order to outsource homework.

Finally: it's up to the student to decide exactly what I do in exchange for some books: I can write the entire Perl program, or I can review a program the student himself or herself has written.

Why not a payment via PayPal?

The main reason for starting with Perl help in exchange for books is that books in English are very hard to get here in Xalapa, a city in Veracruz, Mexico. Hence I prefer to get books, or other things that are hard to get here (or just too expensive) instead of receiving a payment via PayPal. I do enjoy Perl programming, and some of the projects I have done in exchange for a books were fun do to. Moreover, I consider receiving a book (of books) more rewarding than a small payment. Also because the books come in at unexpected times; sometimes it takes 4 to 6 weeks, somtimes as little as 14 days. Or: I like the excitement of hearing the doorbell, going down the stairs, and receiving a box with books. It's also a great opportunity to practice my Spanish with the postman.

Perl help in exchange for books: also for companies

In some cases - read: very small Perl programs, or small modifications to existing Perl programs - I might be able to offer Perl help for books also to companies as well. However, for larger tasks or consultancy please consider hiring me:

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