xaphod has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

I was last here 'april 27, 2006 14:07 UTC'. How much Perl could you forget in two years? How would you remember two years on. I can still read it, bit hazy on writing it. What would you place on your syntax primer if all you had was a page of text.
--
TTFN, FNORD

xaphod
Update; two years two months ;-) ; back then I had a place for manuals, and a desk, now I don't.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: underpinned by deeper beliefs
by moritz (Cardinal) on Jul 01, 2008 at 20:55 UTC
    Are you looking for perlcheat? Or something advanced?

    Update: I just noticed that it's two months since Apr 2008, not two years. And in two month I don't forget all that much about a programming language I'm fluent in, and nearly all syntax that in languages that I could never write without a manual on my desk.

Re: underpinned by deeper beliefs
by rovf (Priest) on Jul 02, 2008 at 08:19 UTC

    First of all, I would write simple things which use to do more or less the same in all languages, but all the time look different - looping constructs, string interpolation etc.

    BTW, I have the problem too that, hopping from project to project, I have to deal with different languages and come back to an "old" one maybe after years. I use a webbased notesheet (in my case, I use the note sheet which come with the http://fastmail.fm/ freemail account, but there are plenty of others available which do the same) where I jot down constructs I find "interesting" in a language. It turns out that most of the "interesting" stuff often fits on one printed page, if you print it with a not-too-large font...

    -- 
    Ronald Fischer <ynnor@mm.st>
Re: underpinned by deeper beliefs
by DrHyde (Prior) on Jul 02, 2008 at 09:50 UTC
    If you've got a time machine, I don't think it matters how much perl you can remember :-)
Re: underpinned by deeper beliefs
by dwm042 (Priest) on Jul 02, 2008 at 17:36 UTC
    Mikhail Tal was a former world champion chess player who would spend time solving chess problems written for children (at least, in the stories I have heard about the man). He felt it made his eye sharper.

    In much the same vein, I'll read any beginner's article on a language I can, when I'm learning it or relearning it.