Beefy Boxes and Bandwidth Generously Provided by pair Networks
Clear questions and runnable code
get the best and fastest answer
 
PerlMonks  

Re: Why I learn a language.

by xmath (Hermit)
on Feb 24, 2003 at 14:39 UTC ( [id://238126]=note: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??


in reply to Why I learn a language.

First of all, I program for fun! This obviously yields a very different story than when you have to "get the job done".

The objectives I have when I write vary a lot, but usually include one or more of:

  • Use of some specific language features I want to explore
  • Some abstract "beauty" criteria (which may have nothing to do whatsoever with readability)
  • Occasionally complexity or obfuscation
  • Shortness (especially when golfing, but in regular code I'm also opposed to verbosity)
  • Elegance of the external interface
  • Speed optimization (when I'm in the mood; rather than when it's useful to do so)

About two months ago I decided that perl was a useful thing to know. I already knew heaps of different languages before i learnt perl (REALbasic, C, C++, Objective C, FORTH, PPC assembly, PostScript, HyperCard, Frontier, AppleScript, INTERCAL, Unlambda, and bits and pieces of other languages like Java, Scheme and Prolog) so I was able to learn perl quickly from the manpages (including perldelta to check on the latest features ofcourse :-)

While learning perl I got involved in some perl-golf sessions on irc. Soon after that I started doing real stuff (co-authored Attribute::Property, joined perlmonks, wrote Data::XDumper, and wrote this reply to your meditation.

Log In?
Username:
Password:

What's my password?
Create A New User
Domain Nodelet?
Node Status?
node history
Node Type: note [id://238126]
help
Chatterbox?
and the web crawler heard nothing...

How do I use this?Last hourOther CB clients
Other Users?
Others drinking their drinks and smoking their pipes about the Monastery: (3)
As of 2024-03-29 14:38 GMT
Sections?
Information?
Find Nodes?
Leftovers?
    Voting Booth?

    No recent polls found