Perl, Python and noo perl

[Jeremy]

O
> Perl's docs are generally very good - but if burried deep within the
> perldoc pages
> for some function foo(), it describes that the behavior will be
> altered if the
> sun happens to be at a certain angle perpendicular to the system timer
> - well,
> great docs don't stop confusion there.

*grin*  perldoc -f <function>  helps a little there.  And we're proud 
of our sun and phase of moon random number crasher.

  
> excessive. Unfortunately the more arcane ways of accomplishing a task
> there is,
> the more instances of hard to understand code will crop up, as people
> exercise
> their ego or their desire to be obtuse.

There is a difference between doing it different ways and doing it 
pathologically.  If a programmer starts inserting gratuitous line noise 
into his programs then s/he's earnt a 'carreer directions meeting' with 
her/his employer.  But a programmer shouldn't have to give up, say 
functional programming constructs because the shop language is a BDSM 
object-orientated language.



> > Perl's data structures are insane, but intruiging. There's a twisted
> logic
> > there, after a fashion.
> 
> OOP in perl was always a hack. It's not bad from a client perspective,
> but
> writing OOP libraries was way more complicated than it should have
> been.

It certainly lacks the shortcuts of a more traditional OO language, but 
it can also do a few tricks that few OO languages can get close to.


> I must admit I am looking forward to Perl6, as I'm interested in how
> it will
> perform. Throwing compatibility out the window allows them to remove
> some major
> warts.

One of the stated project goals, right from the start, is to be faster 
than Perl5 in all areas.  So far this is true (for parrot, anyway).


> Perl6 still has a while to go, however, and perl in its current
> incarnation is
> a terrible hack. An impressive, useful hack - but a hack none the
> less. I think
> I'll wait until Perl6 before resuming using it for fun.

Even the maintenance programmers use harsher words to describe parts of 
Perl5.

Incidentally, if any Comp Sci people want to use a bit of their 
hard-earned knowledge from their degree, the Perl6 people are designing 
and coding their compiler *right now*.  And any help is appreciated.  
It's one of those rare opportunities where all that theoretical 
knowledge can be applied in real life.