1) I think the links should be more perl centric. E.g. a [syntax://grep] that links to the onsite perl documentation.
2) Your suggested links (whatis.com, dictionary.com) are offsite and would provide a rather disjointed experience for the user so I think it would be better to keep the links onsite.

Other than these i'm all for your idea.

~~rob
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eval pack "h*", "072796e647022245d445f475454494c5e622b3";

1. That is not a really bad idea, since it might sometimes be clashes betweem where something links, and for instance the username "grep". Otherwise, a simple [grep] is enough to link to the site docs. (Using [syntax://] or perhaps [doc://] could provide a way to show exactly what you want to link to. The site docs are of course outdated, but links onward to other resources in a very elegant way (++ whoever fixed that).

2. As you can see at What shortcuts can I use for linking to other information?, most link types link offsite, to useful places like Google and CPAN. This is a good thing, as it provides easy ways to link to extra information, without needing to have it all on this very site (imagine mirroring all of google just because you don't want to link offsite).

I have never heard of anyone having any trouble with any disjointed experience due to offsite linking, that is a big part of how the internet works after all, with cross-referencing and links to places of information.

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You have moved into a dark place.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

1) Using perldoc://grep will generaly do close to the right thing (points to a perldoc.com search for foo). Also, using perlfunc:grep will link to the "the onsite docs are out of date, but..." page.

2) I'd personaly like the whatis:// scheme, and dict:// pointing to http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=$whatever. I generaly find m-w.com to give nicer results then dictionary.com, but either way. The important part is that dict:// is better then dictionary://.

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We are using here a powerful strategy of synthesis: wishful thinking. -- The Wizard Book

In response to point 2...

I like shortening it to dict:// like you did here and demerphq suggested below, and I also like the idea of using merriam-webster's dictionary better. I just didn't realize it was there cause I went to dictionary.com. hehe. :)

~Brian

[syntax://grep]


This sounds like a great idea. I would also like to see a [monk://grep] tag added to specify a user's home node. :-)



grep

Just me, the boy and these two monks, no questions asked.

How about [syn://grep], as in "Where to send sinning Monks :)

"Nothing is sure but death and taxes" I say combine the two and its death to all taxes!

1. Allows l33t style spelling
2. Really just takes a lot of other people's definitions, including those in the jargon file, which isn't how a dictionary is usually compiled
3. Includes value judgements on subject matter

Non-perl related links should be carefully considered.

1. Allows l33t style spelling
not seeing how the decreases the value of the dictionary. if it only accepted l33t style spelling you'd have a point.
2. Really just takes a lot of other people's definitions, including those in the jargon file, which isn't how a dictionary is usually compiled
True but not seeing how this is a bad thing. you get multiple definitions instead of just one.
3. Includes value judgements on subject matter
this seems to be quite rare though. and the definition was valid... I would agree it was out of place but not THAT big a deal. It wasn't even a value judgement but a statement of fact, piracy IS illegal.
oh well i don't really see this issue as all that important. move to a diffrent dictionary if that what people prefere, who really cares?

I've seen a bit of carping and resistance to providing non-perl-centric shortcuts. I'd like to propose that we can have our cake an eat it too, since what we're really talking about is where we fall on the bell curve of generality.

Obviously this site is well served by Perl-specific shortcuts.

Nearly as obviously, there's no point in providing shortcuts to alternate programming languages (yah?), political sites, religious sites (like real monasteries, for instance), etc.

However, there exists utility on the web that is ubiquitous to any web experience, including topical sites. I think the suggestions above fall into acceptable ubiquity. We see this with ISBN, etc.

Consider it not on the grounds of how Perl specific it is, but rather on how it stands in a Huffman-encoding sense. If lots of monks make such references, then a shortcut makes sense.

Personally, I vote for an imdb shortcut, for the CB if nothing else.

Matt

I though I'd give http://www.whatis.com a try and of course searched for "Perl".

I eventually ended up here, where they say:

Perl is an interpreted language that can optionally be compiled just before execution into either C code or cross-platform bytecode.

I have sent them a note to inform them of the error of their ways.

First is that dictionary.com unfortunately shows a pop up when you visit. This can be annoying and sometimes causes problems actually getting to their site. A dictionary site that doesnt do this might be better, but whatever. *shrug*

The other point is that I would prefer that instead of dictionary the prefix be dict if only cause it saves 6 chars of typing... :-)

Yves / DeMerphq
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Writing a good benchmark isnt as easy as it might look.