Re^4: PERL as shibboleth and the Perl community

I'm no linguist, so I might be just flapping my virtual gums, but it seems to me that when a given spelling means two or more different things in natural language, it's for historical reasons. For example, I'm sure that "dessert" was not designed to mean all of "a dry place", "a small meal after the main meal", and "to leave". It just kind of happened that way. I'd have to imagine that one of the finer points in learning a new language is distinguishing between words that are spelled the same. So, when it is said that it was intentional overloading of one spelling to mean multiple things, I have to scratch my head.

thor

Feel the white light, the light within Be your own disciple, fan the sparks of will For all of us waiting, your kingdom will come

Comment on Re^4: PERL as shibboleth and the Perl community

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Re^5: PERL as shibboleth and the Perl community by merlyn (Sage) on Nov 22, 2005 at 18:10 UTC
But "dessert" = "a small tasty aftermeal treat". The other two are "desert"! {grin} -- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker Be sure to read my standard disclaimer if this is a reply.	[reply]
Re^6: PERL as shibboleth and the Perl community by thor (Priest) on Nov 22, 2005 at 20:09 UTC
You're right...rats! Not because you were right, but because I need to learn how to spell. My original point still stands, though. thor `Feel the white light, the light within Be your own disciple, fan the sparks of will For all of us waiting, your kingdom will come`	[reply]
Re^7: PERL as shibboleth and the Perl community by chanio (Priest) on Nov 23, 2005 at 02:05 UTC
Well, At Micro$oft-land UPPER and lower words, mean the same! (sort of a bad democracy) If you are like me, and see programing as an extension to our human skills. Then, programing perl should be like using a screwdriver(4 x.). I would judge someone not by his knowledge about screwdrivers but by his skills in doing things with it. It is better to wait and see when someone decides to give something just because he feels like doing it. Than having to bear all the nonsence that appears when people feel obliged to 'give' what they can't appreciate.- Landlords production is only eaten by landlords... Wherever I lay my KNOPPIX disk, a new FREE LINUX nation could be established	[reply]