in reply to Do the masses know about perl?

Does it matter? How many dance forms have you never heard of because it wasn't on TV, or you weren't looking at the time it was. Do you think that not knowing about it is a big loss? Do you think that dancers on dancemonks.org discuss this? ;-)

I don't know much about hairdressing, law cases, making play-dooh, or the sex life of dung beetles. I don't blame TV for never mentioning it. Nor do I think it's a big loss for my life. (It could very well be a big loss - but don't tell me. If I don't know, I won't feel sad).

Abigail

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Re^2: Do the masses know about perl?
by Jenda (Abbot) on Jun 19, 2004 at 12:29 UTC

    Well it does not matter whether the average Joe knows about Perl, but it does matter whether the average nontechnical manager has ever heard of it. If they always hear about Java, but have never heard of Perl, how do you think they'll react if one guy suggests implementing something in Java and the other in Perl?

    I may not be paining my flat myself, but if the mister painter asks me whether I want him to use brand A or B and I've heard a lot good about A (and have no way of telling whether it's true or not) and never heard of B, I'll probably want A. And even more likely if he tells me B is much cheaper.

    Jenda
    Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live.
       -- Rick Osborne

[reply]
      If someone who calls himself a "master" painter asks me whether use brand A or brand B, without telling me about the advantages and disavantages of brands A and B, I'd reconsider my hiring skills. He's the expert, and I should value his opinion more than what I might have heard on the Discovery channel.
      If they always hear about Java, but have never heard of Perl, how do you think they'll react if one guy suggests implementing something in Java and the other in Perl?
      So, Java first got the mass-media coverage, and then became a popular language? My memory might be screwed up, but I think that Java established itself as a popular language without the "masses" knowing about Java.

      Abigail

[reply]

      AFAIK Java did get a lot of media coverage thanks to Sun's funding from the very beginning. Sure most of that was in the IT and business oriented periodics, but when it comes to hype I do believe you'd have a hard task to find a comparable case. But maybe here speaks my strong dislike of Java.

      Jenda
      Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live.
         -- Rick Osborne

[reply]

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