Hacking Perl (I think)

Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

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Re: Hacking Perl (I think) by ikegami (Patriarch) on Aug 25, 2011 at 03:36 UTC
You can get a snapshot of blead from http://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git/snapshot/HEAD.tar.gz. Although `git` patches are preferred, one created using `diff -u` should be acceptable too. That said it'll be easier to use git, especially when it comes time to rebase your patches when you're about ready to submit them.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Hacking Perl (I think) by Anonymous Monk on Aug 25, 2011 at 12:24 UTC
Well... I really don't know how to use Git. And I guess I don't, really, no the purpose of Git. But if it is easier, I guess I should learn Git ;-)	[reply]
Re^3: Hacking Perl (I think) by ikegami (Patriarch) on Aug 25, 2011 at 19:16 UTC
perlrepository tells you pretty much everything you need to know. The git user manual is actually very good once you need something perlrepository doesn't cover.	[reply]
Re^3: Hacking Perl (I think) by DrHyde (Prior) on Aug 30, 2011 at 10:00 UTC
The purpose of git is to be a version control system which you can use when you're offline. I'm told that it has some other funky features too, but I'm not convinced that they are either particularly important or couldn't be implemented with cvs or svn and a few shell scripts.	[reply]
Re^4: Hacking Perl (I think) by ikegami (Patriarch) on Aug 30, 2011 at 17:49 UTC
Re: Hacking Perl (I think) by FunkyMonk (Chancellor) on Aug 25, 2011 at 13:08 UTC
Reading perlguts, PerlGuts Illustrated, perlxstut and perlxs might help. The Porting directory in the perl source also contains a lot useful info. However, there's a lot of source code with much magic hidden within. I'd suggest a more focussed approach, such as picking a TODO from perltodo and work towards DOing it. The p5p mailing list (subscribe or archive) and #p5p on irc.perl.org could be sources of assistance, as well as here. At some point, you will have to learn how to use git. There's a free book, or a more perl oriented cheat sheet in perlgit. Update: Another avenue you might like to try, is looking at perl5's bug-tracker (it's much easier to use if you log in first) and see if there are any bugs you can try to fix. Update^2: Corrected address of #p5p (thanks moritz!) Perl: perlintro perlretut perldoc Basic debugging checklist Yes, even you can use CPAN PerlMonks: How do I post a question effectively? Markup in the Monastery How do I post a question effectively? I know what I mean. Why don't you? General: How To Ask Questions The Smart Way What every computer scientist should know about floating-point arithmetic To Be Continued...	[reply]
Re^2: Hacking Perl (I think) by jdporter (Paladin) on Aug 26, 2011 at 22:50 UTC
And I would point out that, from a practical standpoint, learning git will be far more beneficial than learning the guts of Perl 5.	[reply]
Re^2: Hacking Perl (I think) by Anonymous Monk on Aug 25, 2011 at 14:41 UTC
Perfect! Thanks Funky Monk! Also, if anyone knows of a good Git tutorial online (besides perlgit) that would be great!	[reply]
Re^3: Hacking Perl (I think) by FunkyMonk (Chancellor) on Aug 25, 2011 at 15:00 UTC
There's a nice set of video tutorials, and loads more tutorials in Google.	[reply]
Re: Hacking Perl (I think) by Anonymous Monk on Aug 25, 2011 at 03:51 UTC
I've read perlhack, but it really didn't help. Also, I don't want to use Git if I don't have to. Thanks. Didn't help what?	[reply]
Re^2: Hacking Perl (I think) by Anonymous Monk on Aug 25, 2011 at 12:21 UTC
Didn't help to learn how to hack Perl.	[reply]
Re^3: Hacking Perl (I think) by Anonymous Monk on Aug 26, 2011 at 07:40 UTC
Didn't help to learn how to hack Perl. You already said that, what does that mean? perlhack DESCRIPTION is This document explains how Perl development works. It includes details about the Perl 5 Porters email list, the Perl repository, the Perlbug bug tracker, patch guidelines, and commentary on Perl development philosophy. And perlhack does indeed teach that So what do you mean? FunkyMonk points you to perlguts, but that can't be what you're after, after all, perlhack points you to perlguts MORE READING FOR GUTS HACKERS	[reply]
Re: Hacking Perl (I think) by Logicus (Initiate) on Aug 25, 2011 at 03:20 UTC
Just one question... why?	[reply]
Re^2: Hacking Perl (I think) by Anonymous Monk on Aug 25, 2011 at 12:20 UTC
Why? Because I would like to learn about the internals of Perl. And what better way to that than hacking the source?! :-)	[reply]
Re^3: Hacking Perl (I think) by Logicus (Initiate) on Aug 25, 2011 at 13:11 UTC
I guess for academic curiosity there is no better way, I just find it hard to imagine that there are more than a few dozen people on the planet capable of making any significant improvements to it. Personally I'd quite like to have a look at the source code to perl version 1, just to see where it all started in it's most simplistic form.	[reply]
Re^4: Hacking Perl (I think) by Corion (Patriarch) on Aug 25, 2011 at 13:24 UTC
Re^4: Hacking Perl (I think) by FunkyMonk (Chancellor) on Aug 25, 2011 at 13:46 UTC
Re^5: Hacking Perl (I think) by Logicus (Initiate) on Aug 26, 2011 at 05:14 UTC
Some notes below your chosen depth have not been shown here
Re^4: Hacking Perl (I think) by i5513 (Pilgrim) on Aug 25, 2011 at 14:58 UTC
Re^5: Hacking Perl (I think) by DrHyde (Prior) on Aug 30, 2011 at 09:58 UTC
Re^5: Hacking Perl (I think) by ikegami (Patriarch) on Aug 25, 2011 at 19:25 UTC


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