in reply to Perl IS a programming language, right?

Your friend is absolutely right!  Calling perl a programming language is like calling emacs a word processor.  Perl is a collection of tools for getting things done on a computer.  It uses language to refer to said tools.  In that sense it is a language with which to program computers which I suppose is where the confusion creeps in.  But to call it a computer language as if it were like one of these algebraically defined Computer Languages is a canard which should not be tolerated.

  p
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Re: Re: Perl IS a programming language, right?
by dragonchild (Archbishop) on Dec 06, 2001 at 00:30 UTC
    *blinks* So, 90% of all C++ programs aren't really using C++ cause all they reference are class APIs? What about all those programs using X that never actually do anything but create X objects and an event processor?

    Perl can be algebraically defined. No-one's ever bothered to do it. But, that doesn't mean it isn't algebraically defineable! Anything that's Turing-complete (which Perl is) is algebraically defineable.

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