in reply to Our future

these are all great things to do and think about, for sure. Heres some more

(i) Better support for users' to make and distribute professional apps
the root of all misery.
(ii) a slick cross-platform GUI kit
*cough XPCOM/XUL cough*
(iii) some kind of symbiotic relationship with existing and future applications.
Moveable-Type and POPfile are pretty popular consumer-based apps. But they are alone in the wilderness. Maybe our own version of sourceforge to compliment CPAN?
(iv) Visible products that clearly state "made with Perl"
Not at the foot of the sourcecode, but on the splashscreen.
(v) Visible testimonials from corporate clients.
Not mysterious heresay from unknown sources. Make it a requirment of commercial use if need be.
(vi) a *kickass* aggressive marketing campaign.
I hate to say it - but I hate the thought of spending my life in Java induced tedium even more. Someone has to cough up the dough for this. Perl has gotten further than most on idealism, but this isnt a fairy story.
(vii) a community ethos based on using Perl to make stuff "real people" need.
Not sitting around forums jerking off over map

let me make that last point more clear

It doesn't matter how many ways you can call a subroutine - Perl has to be visible outside of the technical community. And the only way to get it there is to make stuff people need, with Perl, and let them know that Perl and its surrounding philosophy/community made it possible.
This is the responsibility of the extended Perl community. Larry Wall et al have very little power over this at all.

We.need.to.make.stuff.with.Perl.that.people.want.to.use


This is what will get Perl accepted in enterprise and make Perl a more lucrative employment option. Smart People are making an extended effort to put the right tool for the job in our hands....but how will we use it?.




time was, I could move my arms like a bird and...