Re: There's Only One Way To Do It

"...Perl matches the way I think pretty well, because what I mostly want in a computer language is a wide dynamic range. I want a language in which you can say both dirty, low-level stuff and fancy, high-level stuff. I want a language where both baby-talk and fluency are acceptable. Other computer languages tend to try to level those distinctions."

-- Larry Wall

As reported on Slashdot

Comment on Re: There's Only One Way To Do It

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Re: Re: There's Only One Way To Do It by michaeld (Monk) on Apr 07, 2004 at 14:29 UTC
I fully agree with this. I describes what I think is one of the main advantages of Perl: "you can... but you don't have to....". On the other hand, I was thinking: could it be that it's because of the fact they don't have all these possibilities in Java that some people prefer it? I mean: the fact that they don't necessarily have to choose between 'baby-talk' and 'fluency' might convince people to use Java instead of Perl for instance. After all, it's one choice less to make...you just start coding I quite like Perl, but I have to admit that all these possiblities (TIMTOWTDI) tend to make it harder for a beginner. Any thoughts on this? Cheers, MichaelD	[reply]
Re: Re: Re: There's Only One Way To Do It by EdwardG (Vicar) on Apr 07, 2004 at 16:51 UTC
Like most complex choices, I think it probably comes down to personality and your preference for a certain style. Going out on a limb, let me speculate that One Way To Do It probably suits army types more than English Lit majors, and TIMTOWTDI probably better suits the latter. For me, it's been cool to be able to pick up the baby talk in no time flat, and then to be able to enjoy the ongoing experience of the swiss army bits and pieces. I like not having a defined end point to my education.	[reply]


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