Larry Wall on the Zen of Perl 6

[furrbear]

Larry Wall on the Zen of Perl 6
What kind of programmer are you?

Laziness, impatience, and hubris: the three qualities that make a programmer, according to Larry Wall, the creator of Perl.

Perl earned its fame years ago by being the major language driving web programming, and distinguished itself from the rest of the pack by allowing developers to write full-featured programs using nothing but punctuation. Perl 6, which has been in development for the better part of a decade, has shown Larry to be at least one third correct. Which third, however, depends on who you ask.

In an interview with Computerworld, Larry made some philosophical remarks that explain the seeming stagnation on Perl 6. When asked about the basic similarity between Perl 5 and Perl 6, Larry said: "Similar things should look similar but similar things should also look different, and how you trade those things off is an interesting design principle."

It's very Zen, but this is standard issue for Perl developers: the way you understand a Perl program depends on how you read it. Those seeking the path to enlightenment should probably start with Perl 6 interpreters.

The wise master, responding to a question about standards for Perl 6, has decreed that fragmentation and unity are one in the same: "We have a saying: all is fair if you pre-declare it. The idea with Perl 6 is you start with a standard language and you can mutate it."

Larry later added: "My vision of Perl's future is that I hope I don't recognize it in 20 years."

For the Perl community, this promise of ambiguity is a favor. Perl programmers have long ensured their own job security by writing code that the machines themselves have trouble understanding, and Perl 6 seems will bring this tradition to the next level. ®

Comments

[beartech.livejournal.com]

Now I get it, Perl 6 is like Nirvana. It is a goal you never actually achieve except maybe after you die. Bummer, I was hoping to get to actually use it some day. Perl was the first language I really "got", and managed to write a decent CGI web app with it. Lately though I've been using Ruby, it seems so much more friendly. But I'll be glad to see Perl keep going, it will always have a place in my heart. :-)

[cubziz.livejournal.com]

I admit, I "learned" perl by dissecting other people's code, but man, it was tough. Most of it was looking at various CGI scripts, but some were plain and others were cryptic.

PHP is just as bad. :P

I admit, I've read a little bit on Ruby and I'm intruiged.

[backrubbear.livejournal.com]

I have thankfully not been following any of the perl 6 mess. The language was a real mess to do anything serious in, especially when working with a number of people with differing styles.

A programmer shouldn't have to spend that much time thinking about what a given line of code means.