Researching Perl history, evolution, etc (was: Questions of a Newbie)

Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: Questions of a Newbie by davorg (Chancellor) on Sep 19, 2002 at 14:44 UTC
For extra credit with your teacher when you hand in your assignment, be sure to point out that the language is called "Perl" not "PERL". -- <http://www.dave.org.uk> "The first rule of Perl club is you do not talk about Perl club." -- Chip Salzenberg	[reply]
Re: Questions of a Newbie by newrisedesigns (Curate) on Sep 19, 2002 at 15:12 UTC
First, the language was developed back in the late 1980s. It was originally designed to work as a "glue" between other languages. It works to make the hard things easy and the impossible things possible (to paraphrase Larry Wall, the inventor). It's evolved greatly; now there are many people working on Perl. (See perlhist) The current status of Perl (not PERL) can be a lot of different things. It's currently at version 5.8.0. It's always a work in progress. The strengths and weaknesses are one and the same: you can do anything with Perl. This allows for many tasks to be done quickly, but it also allows for sloppy coding. I'd assume that the characteristics of the average application written in Perl is that it would have taken much longer in C or Java. Also, the program has some aspects that when read at a later date, are indecipherable by the author. That's a biggie. See CPAN. For extra credit, you should also explain about the social aspects of Perl. This language has started a social movement that united people all across the globe; those with computer expertise and those just starting out. It has a following akin to a cult or other religious sect. Visions of camels are often seen in the clouds and the foam of a cappucino. People live by Perl. People make a living from Perl, directly or indirectly. It helps, it heals. It cures headaches. Perl is a gift to the computing world, and it's free. Join the Monastery and begin your training. Even if you don't learn a thing about Perl, you'll learn something else worthwhile in the process. Update: see also perlfaq1 to answer some other questions you might have. John J Reiser newrisedesigns.com	[reply]
Re: Questions of a Newbie by Zaxo (Archbishop) on Sep 19, 2002 at 15:35 UTC
perltoc is the gateway to Perl. I. perlfaq1, perlhist, II. perldelta, perltodo III. perl IV. perlmodlib Each document in that list is distributed with perl, and may be read with perldoc or 'man' on your local perl installation. After Compline, Zaxo	[reply]
Re: Questions of a Newbie by krisahoch (Deacon) on Sep 19, 2002 at 14:56 UTC
Anon You can find a great history and time line of Perl here. That goes back further than Perl. You can address sections I, and II with that alone. I find that information by going to google.com and searching for 'Perl History' Have fun with the rest Kristofer	[reply]
Re: Questions of a Newbie by AcidHawk (Vicar) on Sep 19, 2002 at 14:58 UTC
Wow, If that doesn't sound like a homework question then I've never heard a homework question. But I'll tell you what I find neat about perl:- 1. I like that there are loads of ways of tackling a problem. I am often worried if I have chosen the "best" way to do something (and that isn't always the shortest or smoothest way) ... but I have consoled myself with the fact that should some-one show me a better way to do one thing, I may in time be able to show them another approach for a problem they may be experiencing and on top of that I will have learnt another solution. 2. I believe that there is strength in the fact that there are people who are willing to share their code for something they have already poured their head over. I just don't have the time to spend writing my own command-line argument parser ala Getopt::Long etc. 3. The perl community is made up of really cool people. :) I don't think I have answered any of your questions, but if you are serious about learning the perl language perhaps my ramblings will help a little. Oh and by the way... it's not PERL. Its Perl or perl. ----- Of all the things I've lost in my life, its my mind I miss the most.	[reply]
Re: Researching Perl history, evolution, etc (was: Questions of a Newbie) by tjh (Curate) on Sep 19, 2002 at 16:03 UTC
Interesting. I wonder if doing your own research was a goal in this assignment. Finding out how to find out is part of learning how to learn... Plus, you'll spend a large percentage of your programming future researching solutions; should probably get used to that early on...	[reply]
Re^2: Researching Perl history, evolution, etc by Aristotle (Chancellor) on Sep 19, 2002 at 20:10 UTC
Well, one way of finding out is to find PerlMonks and post the question there.. `:^)` I hope s/he takes note of the various resources pointed out (and therefor, where one might look on their own) even more so than of what's there. Makeshifts last the longest.	[reply]


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