What is it with this "maintaining a Perl installation"? Why is that a problem? Perl comes with many operating systems, including most (all?) Linux distributions, Solaris and HP-UX. And so come hundreds of other packages. Noone complains about having to maintain networking programs/ libraries and seek for a way to distribute programs like web browsers that don't require any "network maintenance". Yet configuring a network is far more complicated than Perl - I will have to answer a few questions when installing the OS (unlike installing Perl, I'd have to answer a whopping zero questions).

I refuse to believe that having the attitude of "I think you are stoooooopid; here's a 5Mb binary instead of 3k source" is going to win us many friends. Certainly not with the people it matters (like sysadmins, programmers, and other techies).

Sure, it might be easier for some J. Random Users, but does that matter? Isn't installation of applications something that should be left to the system administrators anyway? You don't *want* people who get easily confused install anything.

That leaves us the non knowledgeable people at home. But they are totally irrelevant when it comes to increasing the popularity of Perl in the world. If the customer can install it without caring that it's written in Perl, it certainly isn't going to increase the popularity of Perl - because the customer doesn't even know Perl is being used.

Microsoft has done enough damage already with its moronization of the average computer user. I don't think Perl should go the same way. Let's not insult the user by assuming (s)he only has two working braincells.

-- Abigail

In reply to Re: The Future - Shipping Applications Written in Perl by Abigail
in thread The Future - Shipping Applications Written in Perl by John M. Dlugosz

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