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FAQ: put Perl-related questions together
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@shlomif
shlomif committed Jan 1, 2025
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Expand Up @@ -6054,6 +6054,84 @@ I Hate Advocacy</a> - by Mark-Jason Dominus.

[%- END -%]

[% WRAPPER h4_section id = "why_perl" title = "Why are you still using Perl? Can't you rewrite all your Perl code in Python / JavaScript / TypeScript / Erlang / Intercal / etc.?" %]

<p>
It is true that Perl 5 seems to have somewhat fallen out of favour, but as much as I like Python
(and I do), I still also like Perl. One cannot rewrite their entire codebase in [insert hyped
language/stack/framework/technology of the present] every 6 months or so. Back
when I was interested in learning <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_(programming_language)">the Ruby programming language</a>,
some of its enthusiasts implied I should use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_on_Rails">Rails</a>
for my sites. And guess what? The Rails and Ruby craze and hype are gone, and
<a href="[% base_path %]humour/fortunes/show.cgi?id=compiling-a-C-program-from-20-years-ago">Rails has its share of issues</a>,
and I'm glad my site was not converted to be a Rails application.
It can also happen to <a href="[% base_path %]humour/fortunes/show.cgi?id=sharp-gamedev--everything-is-dead">node.js, Python</a>, PHP, or WordPress.
</p>

<p>
Currently, <a href="https://dev.perl.org/perl5/">perl5</a> is quite actively developed
with annual major releases, and with as little <a href="http://blogs.perl.org/users/aristotle/2013/06/decade-scale.html">backward compatibility broken</a> as possible. The
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPAN">CPAN</a> ecosystem is not quite as
active as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_Package_Index">PyPI</a>
or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Npm_(software)">npm</a>, but still proves
useful often, and also avoids breaking backward compatibility as much as possible.
Moreover, I can often make use of modules and libraries in other languages using
<a href="https://metacpan.org/pod/distribution/Inline/lib/Inline.pod">the Inline::* family</a>
of CPAN modules
and other <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_function_interface">FFIs</a>.
</p>

<p>
Note that I also write some new code in Python, Julia, bash, C, C++, and other languages.
</p>

<blockquote cite="https://twitter.com/shlomif/status/1490175665597030405">

<p>
Shlomi Fish on Twitter: "From #IRC : One thing we appreciate about #perl #CPAN,
is that there is often a "category killer", which while not always perfect, is
used. On PyPI and npm, many use cases have many alternatives (re
<a href="https://t.co/xCbM7jfC2t">https://t.co/xCbM7jfC2t</a> ;
<a href="https://t.co/Nx8Uu3JvAw">https://t.co/Nx8Uu3JvAw</a>) without a clear winner."
</p>

</blockquote>

<p>
( <a href="https://twitter.com/shlomif/status/1490175665597030405">Tweet</a> )
</p>

<blockquote cite="https://twitter.com/shlomif/status/1658766516471447552">

<p>
Shlomi Fish on Twitter: via @nixsanctuary : <a href="https://blog.visionarycto.com/p/my-20-year-career-is-technical-debt">“My 20 Year Career is Technical Debt or Deprecated”</a>.
</p>

<p>
I can emphatise, but as opposed to him, large amounts of my FOSS / Creative Commons / etc. code+content are still functional (after many transitions) .
</p>

<p>
Avoiding being an early adopter has advantages.
</p>

</blockquote>

<p>
( <a href="https://twitter.com/shlomif/status/1658766516471447552">Tweet</a> )
</p>

<p>
<strong>Note:</strong> please do not interpret this FAQ answer as a challenge
to tell me how to convert my site to be a Ruby-on-Rails app or whatever. Ruby
is post-hip / post-hype, seems to have become unpopular, and I don't like it,
while I still like Perl 5 and Python 3. Any merge-request that introduces new
Ruby code will likely be rejected (with a possible exception for ruby gems
which provide functionality which is not found elsewhere).
</p>

[%- END -%]

[% WRAPPER h4_section id = "publishing_proj_euler" title = "Why did you publicly share your solutions to Project Euler problems despite their request to avoid doing that?" %]

<p>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -6184,84 +6262,6 @@ for some stories and screenplays, and for some essays. I am not a purist of the

[%- END -%]

[% WRAPPER h4_section id = "why_perl" title = "Why are you still using Perl? Can't you rewrite all your Perl code in Python / JavaScript / TypeScript / Erlang / Intercal / etc.?" %]

<p>
It is true that Perl 5 seems to have somewhat fallen out of favour, but as much as I like Python
(and I do), I still also like Perl. One cannot rewrite their entire codebase in [insert hyped
language/stack/framework/technology of the present] every 6 months or so. Back
when I was interested in learning <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_(programming_language)">the Ruby programming language</a>,
some of its enthusiasts implied I should use <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_on_Rails">Rails</a>
for my sites. And guess what? The Rails and Ruby craze and hype are gone, and
<a href="[% base_path %]humour/fortunes/show.cgi?id=compiling-a-C-program-from-20-years-ago">Rails has its share of issues</a>,
and I'm glad my site was not converted to be a Rails application.
It can also happen to <a href="[% base_path %]humour/fortunes/show.cgi?id=sharp-gamedev--everything-is-dead">node.js, Python</a>, PHP, or WordPress.
</p>

<p>
Currently, <a href="https://dev.perl.org/perl5/">perl5</a> is quite actively developed
with annual major releases, and with as little <a href="http://blogs.perl.org/users/aristotle/2013/06/decade-scale.html">backward compatibility broken</a> as possible. The
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPAN">CPAN</a> ecosystem is not quite as
active as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_Package_Index">PyPI</a>
or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Npm_(software)">npm</a>, but still proves
useful often, and also avoids breaking backward compatibility as much as possible.
Moreover, I can often make use of modules and libraries in other languages using
<a href="https://metacpan.org/pod/distribution/Inline/lib/Inline.pod">the Inline::* family</a>
of CPAN modules
and other <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_function_interface">FFIs</a>.
</p>

<p>
Note that I also write some new code in Python, Julia, bash, C, C++, and other languages.
</p>

<blockquote cite="https://twitter.com/shlomif/status/1490175665597030405">

<p>
Shlomi Fish on Twitter: "From #IRC : One thing we appreciate about #perl #CPAN,
is that there is often a "category killer", which while not always perfect, is
used. On PyPI and npm, many use cases have many alternatives (re
<a href="https://t.co/xCbM7jfC2t">https://t.co/xCbM7jfC2t</a> ;
<a href="https://t.co/Nx8Uu3JvAw">https://t.co/Nx8Uu3JvAw</a>) without a clear winner."
</p>

</blockquote>

<p>
( <a href="https://twitter.com/shlomif/status/1490175665597030405">Tweet</a> )
</p>

<blockquote cite="https://twitter.com/shlomif/status/1658766516471447552">

<p>
Shlomi Fish on Twitter: via @nixsanctuary : <a href="https://blog.visionarycto.com/p/my-20-year-career-is-technical-debt">“My 20 Year Career is Technical Debt or Deprecated”</a>.
</p>

<p>
I can emphatise, but as opposed to him, large amounts of my FOSS / Creative Commons / etc. code+content are still functional (after many transitions) .
</p>

<p>
Avoiding being an early adopter has advantages.
</p>

</blockquote>

<p>
( <a href="https://twitter.com/shlomif/status/1658766516471447552">Tweet</a> )
</p>

<p>
<strong>Note:</strong> please do not interpret this FAQ answer as a challenge
to tell me how to convert my site to be a Ruby-on-Rails app or whatever. Ruby
is post-hip / post-hype, seems to have become unpopular, and I don't like it,
while I still like Perl 5 and Python 3. Any merge-request that introduces new
Ruby code will likely be rejected (with a possible exception for ruby gems
which provide functionality which is not found elsewhere).
</p>

[%- END -%]

[% WRAPPER h4_section id = "why_did_you_quit_mageia" title = "Why did you quit using and contributing to Mageia Linux?" %]

<p>
Expand Down

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