I started programming Perl 4 years ago. At the time, I didn't consider myself a programming person, or anything near a computer geek. I'd tried learning C++ (for one of my classes) in high school, and I didn't like it. I had done some BASIC programming on my Commodore 64, and I bit of JavaScript here and there, but it wasn't amazing. I'd never PEEKed or POKEed in BASIC, and, well, JavaScript isn't really advanced.

So I started learning Perl. It was for my home page, just making little mail-me forms and whatnot. I started by looking at one of my friend's programs. Then I decided to check IRC. Luckily, I chose EFnet (by random). I was scorned and such, for my lack of effort in reading the docs and all. And I was kicked (and probably banned) for my insolence and ignorance. But I learned. I got the camel. I learned Perl from books, and people that knew it (and people whose job it was to make sure people kept learning and liking Perl).

And so why do I program Perl? Maybe I'm a geek (I don't think so, though -- I'm just enthusiastic), maybe not. But I program in Perl because it's fluent for me -- I program as much as I speak (or at least, I'd like to).

When did I realize I had a talent for using Perl? When did I figure out that I knew how to do things efficiently? When I looked at my first programs, and shrunk them tremendously. When I started answering questions on IRC instead of asking them.

I never expected Perl to be as big a part of my life as it is now (it's my career, and will be for a long time, if I have anything to say about it). So looking back, this is all a surprise (a good one). Perl increased my awareness about the programming world, and was a gateway drug (I know some C, C++, Python, and Befunge now, thanks to Perl).

Maybe you don't feel as gung-ho as others, and maybe you won't. Don't try to force Perl to be something for you. If it's not fun now, maybe it will make itself fun for you later. You'll find a groove, eventually.

japhy -- Perl and Regex Hacker

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