Perl now has to deal with a very old problem of programming languages:   a vast “installed base” of production code, worth millions of dollars.   It now becomes much more important that this code continues to run, as efficiently as possible but also “exactly as it now does.”   Basically, forever and forevermore.

New versions of Perl will, of course, continue to emerge, but I think that they will necessarily chart a parallel course.   And yet, we will continue to see some truly innovative developments within each track.   As an example of this, well, I think the Moose package for Perl-5 speaks for itself.   It allows the programmer to produce significantly good code, to do it with great brevity, and to do it within the context of “what has been done before.” As such, it is much more practical from an engineering point of view.

“What will replace Perl-5?”   I submit, “nothing.”   Not for a very long time.   And so, instead of railing against that thought and insisting that it must not be so, I suggest that this pattern is quite typical in our industry, and not altogether a bad thing.

“It’s not about the software.”   It’s not about the language.   It’s about what the rugged software that we build does.   It’s about our continued ability to deliver it, to maintain it, and to keep it flawlessly in-service.  (Whether we say of it, “phewww-w-w-w-w!! this stinks!” or not.)   Every single other thing is of decidedly less importance.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is:   discussions of What’s Best are good and valid and should be pursued (as should be Perl-6, which should advance the language).   But we must also keep things firmly in-context.   The things that we are discussing will not change the world ... and, I would also point out, they don’t need to.   Perl is “Very Good.”

I rather like to say... “while other languages are debating what is the best color to paint their pickup trucks, Perl just hauled another mile-long freight train past their garage.   And it’s gonna keep doing that, all day and all night.”   There aren’t too many languages out there (COBOL is one) that can actually say that.   And so, people have grown to completely rely upon what Perl can deliver.   In our world, then, the gem of theory is always going to be polished against the whetstone of practicality.   Our customers, and our employers, are in the business of freight.