[PLUG] Scalable and esthetic Perl

[Randal L. Schwartz]

>>>>> "Ron" == Ron Braithwaite <ron at nutriware.com> writes:

Ron> And this brings us to the final point about *my* preference for Java
Ron> over Perl. And that is syntax. I very much like Java's syntax and I very
Ron> much dislike Perl's. This point of view is a personal thing, but
Ron> something I am very willing to defend. But over beer and not on this
Ron> list and not at the risk of starting some sort of flame war.

Uh, you don't get to say "I'm taking the last shot now" and make
statements that would undermine an industry. :)

Ron> I like Java. It is a truely high level, object oriented language.

It's a hybrid OO language, like C++ or Perl.  For *truly* OO, you have
to go to Smalltalk or Eiffel or Ruby.

Ron> My problem with Perl is actually, my problem with C++, only more so. The
Ron> absolute unesthetic code that is produced in Perl drives me mad.

Let's rephrase this in a way we can all agree:

    1) You've seen unesthetic code written in Perl
    2) Perhaps you've produced said code

But I need to add point 3 for balance:

    3) It's also practical and reasonable to produce nice looking Perl
    code that is maintainable and scalable

Perhaps you either haven't seen examples of #3, or you can't
personally produce #3, and therefore blast the whole area.  Too bad.
I won't let that stand.

Ron> But, just like Forth, Perl doesn't scale. I cannot imagine a project
Ron> where 15-20 programmers share a Perl code base. I cannot imagine a
Ron> project with a million lines of Perl code.

You have a very limited imagination.  Again, I think this says more
about you than about Perl.

I've seen the discipline it takes for *any* code base to get to be
workable for 10 programmers and 100K lines of code.  There's nothing
in particular that Perl does to hinder those strategies.  Only bad
project managers. :)

Ron> We can disagree based on our preferences, while still respecting each
Ron> other's abilities. The mark of an adult is the ability to disagree
Ron> without disparaging the other's choice.

Then be sure to phrase your future observations as contextual, rather
than absolute.  I can agree when you make them "in my observation".
But not when you say things that are broad-sweeping like "Perl doesn't
scale" -- that would come as quite a surprise to the people creating
slashcode, ticketmaster.com, cbs-sportsline.com, and hundreds of
others of huge installed Perl code bases.

-- 
Randal L. Schwartz - Stonehenge Consulting Services, Inc. - +1 503 777 0095
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