It sounds like what you're saying is that you've identified and learned the core set of functions and operators that you need to use on a daily basis to get your work done. If those 64 functions are all you need, then thank Perl for being so powerful. :)

I think we all know our own core set, determined (or at least influenced) by the projects we've been on. I think most people (including myself) tend to learn new things as new needs arise, but in addition I try to read documentation as I have time so I'm familiar with the capabilities of the language even if I don't remember the specifics (see also Zaxo's comment to this effect).

I don't think there is anything wrong with knowing only a subset of a language. In fact, I would guess very few people (i.e., the true gurus) really know all Perl has to offer. If the post you mentioned in the OP* opened your eyes to a new function and inspired you to browse through the docs again, good! I hope you enjoy the the journey. :)

*FWIW, I am not only familiar with pos, but I also used it for nearly an identical purpose as mdunnbass (searching a genomic sequence for matches to a query sequence).

In reply to Re: functional functions by bobf
in thread functional functions by punkish

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.