Heh, all in good fun! :D
Putting all anger aside, i would like to add that the
article is indeed educational and enlightening - just take
the propaganda with a grain of salt.
I want to re-print a piece from Java
Enterprise in a Nutshell, page 4. If anyone feels threatened
by me posting a quote from a copyrighted book, i will remove
this. Also note that this is pre-Y2K literature.
- Enterprise computing usually takes place in a
heterogeneous network: one in which the computers range from
large mainframes and supercomputers down to PCs ... The only
common denominator is that all the computers in the network
speak the same fundamental network protocol (usually TCP/IP).
- A variety of server applications run on top of the
heterogeneous network hardware. An enterprise might have
database software from three different companies, each of
which defines different, incompatible extensions.
- Enterprise computing involves the use of many different
network protocols and standards. Some standards overlap in
small or significant ways. Many have been extended in various
vendor-specific, nonstandard ways. Some are quite old and
use a vocabulary and terminology that dates back to an
earlier era of computing...
- Enterprise computing has only recently (1999) emerged as
an integrated discipline of its own. Although enterprise
development models are today becoming more cohesive and
encompassing, many enterprises are still left with lots of
"legacy systems" that are aggregated in an ad-hoc way.
- Enterprise programmers, like many of us in the high-tech
world, tend to make their work seem more complicated that
(sic) it actually is. This is a natural human tendency - to
be part of the "in" group and keep outsiders out - but this
tendency seems somehow magnified within the computer
industry.
That is the basis of Enterprise Programming - it has grown
since 1999, but the meat is still the same: create an
interface into an outdated COBOL legacy system instead of
replacing it with a costly new one. Personally, i think this is merely treating the symptom, but i am not a company with a super tight budget. :)
But why is Perl NOT capable of sovling this task?
The only thing i see that would not allow Perl into this
"enterprise club" is a lack of stable threads. But i still
have hope!
Thanks to lachoy for providing those links, i just signed up for the P5EE mailing list. And don't forget this wonderful
link:
jeffa