The Science Perl Journal, Issue #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1): Summer 2024 is finally here!

update: fixed purchase link
TLDR; After hundreds of hours of work and support from lots of people, the long promised Journal is here.

The rest is more of a rant.

I've been much more excited about the fact that the first Perl related title has been published in a long time. I don't know how many years it has been. There have been a lot of ups and downs, I have personally made a lot of missteps - all of which have pissed someone off. But all of us who have persevered have done it for one reason, and it's not because it's going to make anyone any money. We've all gone out of pocket for this by a lot, and we will never recover the money or time (I mean what Perl author has really gotten rich publishing a book - the answer is ZERO). We started this project and will continue to pursue future Issues because of one reason, we love Perl and I think everyone here does, too. I appreciate the support we have gotten at Perl Monks, it's been the place our efforts have been most positively received.

So buy it or don't, it is up to you. Just know it's there in 2024 and that Perl is not dead. We have discovered that there are many Perl programmers toiling away in isolation, thinking they're the only one or feeling disenfranchised in some way. This Journal is connecting a lot of them in very positive ways; as such we are spreading real Hope in the community. And there will be another issue coming as a result of the virtual Winter Conference on December 18th. And then another will come out as a result of our 2025 Summer activities - no thanks, of course, to a certain group of individuals who shall remain nameless.

If you don't want to buy a copy, but still want to support us; what can you do?

watch the videos of the related talks and congratulate the authors and editors
start thinking about participating in the paper process, you can always submit a paper idea for future Issues, NOW
make plans to virtually attend the December Conference - sign up for announcements here
support us, despite our missteps. I think we can all agree that it's an unfortunate truth in life that you can't pick simultaneously the results you'd like to see and the people who deliver them; focus on the results here and not the imperfect people who have delivered them. Help us improve by supporting our efforts in the best ways you are able.
provide specific, constructive feedback so we can improve; honest feedback we can deal with; dredging up the same old FUD about the people involved is not helpful for us or for Perl

There are a lot of people who strongly support what we're doing because they realize that it is for the betterment of Perl. And for those people, I am personally extremely thankful. More than once a singular notes of encouragement has kept me personally going, especially when I committed an unforced error - of which there are many. I know this. Thank you all for your support.

As far as an ebook version goes, this is still planned but we have no ETA for it. We're preparing for a busy couple of months and the Winter Issue. Barnes & Noble employs a rather rigorous process for publishing printed books - it's a whole other process to get an ebook published. So it's not as simple as just exporting a PDF or converting it to emobi or whatever. Thank you for your support and patience.

Comment on The Science Perl Journal, Issue #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1): Summer 2024 is finally here!

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: The Science Perl Journal, Issue #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1): Summer 2024 is finally here! by cavac (Prior) on Oct 18, 2024 at 08:54 UTC
Nice. I don't use printed magazines and books anymore. So i'm going to hope & wait for a DRM-free ebook version (or one where Calibre can remove the DRM). I don't want be forced to use a specific reading App that only works as long as Android support for the App and the cloud servers work. (I'm also buying Kindle books this way, but only as long as i can still DeDRM them and store them on my private source code control. The Kindle app sucks and the default epub reader on my Boox device is much more responsive). PerlMonks XP is useless? Not anymore: XPD - Do more with your PerlMonks XP Also check out my sisters artwork and my weekly webcomics	[reply]
Re^2: The Science Perl Journal, Issue #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1): Summer 2024 is finally here! by soonix (Chancellor) on Oct 18, 2024 at 09:46 UTC
at least it's not one of the Big 5.	[reply]
Re: The Science Perl Journal, Issue #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1): Summer 2024 is finally here! by hippo (Archbishop) on Oct 18, 2024 at 13:04 UTC
Congratulations on getting it out of the door! Sometimes we in the IT industry forget just how much effort is required in doing something concrete IRL like this. We have discovered that there are many Perl programmers toiling away in isolation, thinking they're the only one or feeling disenfranchised in some way. It is surprising to hear that they think this. It implies that they are unaware of PerlMonks or else don't realise that it is where lots of fellow Perl programmers hang out - both of which I am struggling to understand. The Monastery ranks pretty highly when one searches for Perl-related topics and many other high-profile sites relating to the language also link here so most web-connected folks should end up here sooner or later. If you can get a feel for why they are not visiting these halls it would be useful to know about it. 🦛	[reply]
Re: The Science Perl Journal, Issue #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1): Summer 2024 is finally here! by cavac (Prior) on Oct 28, 2024 at 14:44 UTC
Oh, BTW, B&N does not ship to most european countries. So even if i'd choose painted dead trees instead of the (not yet) existing ebook version, i would still be unable to buy a copy. (Well, technically, i could buy a copy if i pick some random U.S. address, but that's not the point). What kind of publisher doesn't ship books() internationally these days??? () "...and other printed works". Hey, the journal has way-too-smallš text on multiple pages made from paper, it folds in the middle and you could use dog-ears to mark where you stopped reading. It's technically a book. š This is an assumption. But as i get older, more and more books seem to have too small text for me to read. Coincidence? I think not! PerlMonks XP is useless? Not anymore: XPD - Do more with your PerlMonks XP Also check out my sisters artwork and my weekly webcomics	[reply]
Re^2: The Science Perl Journal, Issue #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1): Summer 2024 is finally here! by ysth (Canon) on Oct 28, 2024 at 15:18 UTC
Seems that the pBook revolution that was predicted 10 years ago has not come to pass. -- A math joke: r = \| \|csc(θ)\|+\|sec(θ)\| \|-\| \|csc(θ)\|-\|sec(θ)\| \|	[reply]
Re^2: The Science Perl Journal, Issue #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1): Summer 2024 is finally here! by gpvos (Acolyte) on Oct 29, 2024 at 23:40 UTC
It appears that B&N specifically excludes the EU (and for some reason Norway and for now still the UK), so I guess they're unable or unwilling to comply with some EU law. Besides EFTA countries like Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, the order form does list a few other places where most or all EU laws apply such as the Azores, San Marino, Monaco, Corsica(!) and Gibraltar, so it looks like they're a bit sloppy. I suppose I'll look into myus.com, but I'd love to have an alternative.	[reply]
Re^2: The Science Perl Journal, Issue #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1): Summer 2024 is finally here! by oodler (Beadle) on Oct 28, 2024 at 17:11 UTC
From the sounds of it, people are using myus.com. I can't speak of B&N's decisions on shipping. We picked it before we considered where they shipped.	[reply]