The whole point of "buzzwords" is to take complex concepts and distill them down into concise teminology that is generally understood.

Agreed. But sometimes "buzzwords" or jargon can be used as cover for a lack of real knowledge. I think someone that truly understands something can explain it in a reasonably understandable fasion without resotring to jargon. Knowledge of a fields jargon is necessary for advanced work, but not sufficient. :-)

Solid point. Thanks for adding a balanced persective to this exchange.

Acolyte
Studying at the feet of the masters

Hi, I'll clarify. The original poster said:

Mainly it is about data processing, conversion, done with some intelligent logic and algorithms

This doesn't tell the average person anything. So when you say:

Not everyone here is going to use the complex language that you seem to expect.

It seems you are making the same point as I. I don't know what the original poster was talking about so I can't clarify that, but an example would be "I write programs that generate web pages based on templates" instead of "create dynamic, integrated server-side solutions utilizing algorithms to power our database-driven internet http presence." Bad examples, but I think they show my point.

You haven't provided any useful advice for artist.

Actually, I think I provided far better advice than any other posts in this thread (ie Don't believe the BS). Also, His question was one he should answer on his own, nobody can tell him what to learn better than himself.

So to restate my advice: always strive to truly understand what you're doing. If you can't explain it to your grandma and a 4th grader, you don't know what you're talking about. Avoid useless buzzwords, they only make you seem less intelligent than you are. Don't let anyone tell you what you should or shouldn't learn.

That's it, I'm out. Feel free to flame amoungst yourselves.

You've provided a much more cogent arguement, however I think there is a bit more to be gleaned from the original post.

It could be infered that the poster's experience includes coding back end scripts for processing data submitted via web page. There are plenty of other uses for Perl which could be suggested. Log munging, directory maintenance and learning OO Pearl come to mind. Throw a few ideas out there. That's one of the reasons we're here, to shed a little light on the nooks and crannies of programming. It might spark some interest and give the person an idea of where they want to go next. It's about pointing out a few of the possible paths, not forcing someone down a particular road.

Cheers!

Acolyte
Studying at the feet of the masters