Re^3: perl6 or not perl6 ...

You are and are not right. Yeah you can run Perl4 scripts by perl5 while you ... well, they all say you'll be able to run Perl5 scripts by perl6 ;-) But conceptually I think there was a huge gap between Perl4 and Perl5. You've got real references, real datastructures, real lexical variables, objects ... an improved shell became a fullblown general-purpose language. So yes, you'll get some new operators, you get different precedence (ack?!?), you get some more OO features, you get what non-perl-people call function prototypes, you get a brand new source tree, but ... well, it's hard to compare :-)

Jenda
Support Denmark!
Defend the free world!

Comment on Re^3: perl6 or not perl6 ...

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^4: perl6 or not perl6 ... by Juerd (Abbot) on Mar 10, 2006 at 07:54 UTC
they all say you'll be able to run Perl5 scripts by perl6 For that, plain old Perl 5 is used, albeit automatically. This is a feature of the implementation as it is planned, not of the language. But conceptually I think there was a huge gap between Perl4 and Perl5. You've got real references, real datastructures, real lexical variables, objects Those were all additions to the existing language. Yes, it was a big step, and there was a huge gap in between. However, the change was almost fully backwards compatible. It's like changing your house by adding a few floors on top of it. Perl 6 on the other hand will redesign the bottom levels as well, because the Perl 1..5 house was built with Jenga blocks. I think the change from 5 to 6 is more than a huge gap; I think a new language is being designed. Juerd # { site => 'juerd.nl', plp_site => 'plp.juerd.nl', do_not_use => 'spamtrap' }	[reply]

Replies are listed 'Best First'.

Re^4: perl6 or not perl6 ...
by Juerd (Abbot) on Mar 10, 2006 at 07:54 UTC

they all say you'll be able to run Perl5 scripts by perl6

For that, plain old Perl 5 is used, albeit automatically. This is a feature of the implementation as it is planned, not of the language.

But conceptually I think there was a huge gap between Perl4 and Perl5. You've got real references, real datastructures, real lexical variables, objects

Those were all additions to the existing language. Yes, it was a big step, and there was a huge gap in between. However, the change was almost fully backwards compatible. It's like changing your house by adding a few floors on top of it. Perl 6 on the other hand will redesign the bottom levels as well, because the Perl 1..5 house was built with Jenga blocks. I think the change from 5 to 6 is more than a huge gap; I think a new language is being designed.

Juerd # { site => 'juerd.nl', plp_site => 'plp.juerd.nl', do_not_use => 'spamtrap' }

[reply]