Both before and after, Perl is as much about community as it is about the language itself.

Both before and after, software programming is about intention and not code.

Write the most elegant code in any language, and if you don't have a plan or at least a clear vision of what you would like the code to do and how to prove it does it, your code will be worthless. Without vision and a plan of action, your code won't do anything of value. Even if it does do something of value, without tests or other objective ways of demonstrating that your code does what you claim it does, no one will trust it but yourself.

Above more than one person has pointed out that Perl is not unique and that there are other excellent programming languages. This is true. But Perl excels at something that few other languages achieve: drawing together a community of people who share a passion for learning in all areas of life, not just programming.

Take a look at the conversation in the cb on any given day: it will range from politics to tech talk to quirky science to child care advice to music selections and great places to hike to Perl and back again. It is very true that most Perl programmers have a life out side of Perl, but what makes the Perl community unique is that we know this is true about one another.

Perl becomes a philosophy of life because of the community that surrounds it, not the language.

Best, beth

In reply to Re: What should you know before you start to learn Perl? by ELISHEVA
in thread What should you know before you start to learn Perl? by luis.roca

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