in reply to Re^5: Web-designing using PERL
in thread Web-designing using PERL

Happy to: the only place in the documentation that says "PERL" is perlfaq1, which says "never write 'PERL'".
Not actually, in the version of the faq you were linking to. But I already pointed that out.
I don't care if you think "Perl" is an acronym, but that doesn't make "PERL" the name of the language.
See, that's the point. The justification the current version of the perlfaq uses for not writing it as PERL is the claim it's not an acronym. What's someone to do with a statement of which the premises appears not to be true?
I won't hire anyone who doesn't know the name of the language
If someone is good, and appears to fit the rest of the company, I hire them. For all I care, he spells the name of the language as Python. OTOH, I would not hire someone who makes a big deal about the capitalization of the name of a language.

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Re^7: Web-designing using PERL
by chromatic (Archbishop) on Mar 26, 2012 at 21:31 UTC
    What's someone to do with a statement of which the premises appears not to be true?

    If you make a habit of second-guessing plain and long-standing statements of fact made in the very documentation of the languages you use in favor of your feelings about what really is, people like me will be in great demand to fix the messes you make.

    This is software. Accuracy and precision matter.

[reply]

      If there is one single thing I hate about the Perl cultural ethos, it is this mindless obsession by usually reasonable grown men with divisive demarcators like the perl .v. Perl .v. PERL shibboleth. It's just another way to beat on newbies; to stroke your own collective egos; to show (false) superiority.

      Writing & words are mechanism for communication. If you knew what he meant -- and everyone here does -- the purpose of those 4 glyphs -- regardless of the presence or absence of 6th bit -- is manifestly served.

      After that, it is nothing more than "Haw haw, he wears glasses!" bullying.

      With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'
      Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
      "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
      In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

      The start of some sanity?
[reply]
        It's just another way to beat on newbies; to stroke your own collective egos; to show (false) superiority.

        Thanks for the free, long-distance psychoanalysis. It was certainly worth every penny I paid for it.

        Do you know how many Perl books and tutorials I've read? (I don't remember any more.)

        Every one of them which misspelled "Perl" as "PERL" had serious technical inaccuracies. (Teaching novices to avoid these tutorials is worthwhile.)

        I don't interview C programmers, but a good friend does. Everyone who claims a working knowledge of "C/C++" has had serious technical deficiencies.

        Yes, language is fluid, and yes, descriptive linguists have a point you don't want to take too far, and yes, lording it over novices who fail to kowtow to some shibboleths of the dominant cultural cult practices is wrong, but at some point the science of computer programming has to distinguish between truth and falsehood, between fact and fiction, and between correctness and superstition.

[reply]

        This discussion has become quite way too long, really. For what it's worth, I think it's stupid to call the language anything else than Perl or perl (for the shift-challenged ones). I don't write PYTHON, I don't write RUBY, I don't even write BASIC even though the last one might have some merit. They're just Python, Ruby, and Basic to me. And it is fine to correct newbies once or twice on the subject -- it might make them look less like newbies.

        But what I don't understand is experienced developers arguing about the correct capitalisation of their language's name.

[reply]
        "After that, it is nothing more than "Haw haw, he wears glasses!" bullying."

        Grow up and be a man.

[reply]
      Feelings? You quote the perlfaq, I point to man perl. I spot a contradiction.

      You seem to be certain one is wrong, and the other right, yet, you're not sending a patch to fix it.

      My conclusion is simple: no wonder people keep thinking Perl is an acronym.

      And, considering you seem to care deeply about the fact people think Perl is an acronym, why don't you fix the documentation? Or at least, send in a patch.

[reply]
[d/l]
        And, considering you seem to care deeply about the fact people think Perl is an acronym...

        I don't. Sometimes "Perl" stands for something. Sometimes it stands for something else. Sometimes it stands for nothing.

        What's difficult to understand about both pieces of documentation? The name of the language is not "PERL".

[reply]
        "You seem to be certain one is wrong, and the other right, yet, you're not sending a patch to fix it."

        But neither are you. You are, however, getting some down votes. Perhaps next time you quote things like "except when it doesn't" and "but don't tell anyone I said that" you will realize that, how do you limeys say it ... someone is takin the piss outta ya. "Chill, Winston!"

[reply]

In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom