X-Git-Url: http://git.shadowcat.co.uk/gitweb/gitweb.cgi?a=blobdiff_plain;f=pod%2Fperlfaq1.pod;h=8809495f8ae834641dd0998bb68e44da8aca4668;hb=ec861bc19fa3da942464628dd3e86e9b82994ca4;hp=af4d7cbd04c338e589cbaac04fa434c17654d7e5;hpb=6cecdcac8975bfe2a12272798634919e91b189db;p=p5sagit%2Fp5-mst-13.2.git diff --git a/pod/perlfaq1.pod b/pod/perlfaq1.pod index af4d7cb..8809495 100644 --- a/pod/perlfaq1.pod +++ b/pod/perlfaq1.pod @@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ In particular, the core development team (known as the Perl Porters) are a rag-tag band of highly altruistic individuals committed to producing better software for free than you could hope to purchase for money. You may snoop on pending developments via -news://news.perl.com/perl.porters-gw/ and the Deja archive at +nntp://news.perl.com/perl.porters-gw/ and the Deja archive at http://www.deja.com/ using the perl.porters-gw newsgroup, or you can subscribe to the mailing list by sending perl5-porters-request@perl.org a subscription request. @@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ You should definitely use version 5. Version 4 is old, limited, and no longer maintained; its last patch (4.036) was in 1992, long ago and far away. Sure, it's stable, but so is anything that's dead; in fact, perl4 had been called a dead, flea-bitten camel carcass. The most recent -production release is 5.005_03 (although 5.004_05 is still supported). -The most cutting-edge development release is 5.005_57. Further references +production release is 5.6 (although 5.005_03 is still supported). +The most cutting-edge development release is 5.7. Further references to the Perl language in this document refer to the production release unless otherwise specified. There may be one or more official bug fixes by the time you read this, and also perhaps some experimental versions @@ -78,8 +78,8 @@ The 5.0 release is, essentially, a ground-up rewrite of the original perl source code from releases 1 through 4. It has been modularized, object-oriented, tweaked, trimmed, and optimized until it almost doesn't look like the old code. However, the interface is mostly the same, and -compatibility with previous releases is very high. See L. +compatibility with previous releases is very high. +See L. To avoid the "what language is perl5?" confusion, some people prefer to simply use "perl" to refer to the latest version of perl and avoid using @@ -89,24 +89,21 @@ See L for a history of Perl revisions. =head2 What is perl6? -Perl6 is a semi-jocular reference to the Topaz project. Headed by Chip -Salzenberg, Topaz is yet-another ground-up rewrite of the current release -of Perl, one whose major goal is to create a more maintainable core than -found in release 5. Written in nominally portable C++, Topaz hopes to -maintain 100% source-compatibility with previous releases of Perl but to -run significantly faster and smaller. The Topaz team hopes to provide -an XS compatibility interface to allow most XS modules to work unchanged, -albeit perhaps without the efficiency that the new interface would allow. -New features in Topaz are as yet undetermined, and will be addressed -once compatibility and performance goals are met. - -If you are a hard-working C++ wizard with a firm command of Perl's -internals, and you would like to work on the project, send a request to -perl6-porters-request@perl.org to subscribe to the Topaz mailing list. - -There is no ETA for Topaz. It is expected to be several years before it -achieves enough robustness, compatibility, portability, and performance -to replace perl5 for ordinary use by mere mortals. +At The Second O'Reilly Open Source Software Convention, Larry Wall +announced Perl6 development would begin in earnest. Perl6 was an oft +used term for Chip Salzenberg's project to rewrite Perl in C++ named +Topaz. However, Topaz should not be confused with the nisus to rewrite +Perl while keeping the lessons learned from other software, as well as +Perl5, in mind. + +If you have a desire to help in the crusade to make Perl a better place +then peruse the Perl6 developers page at http://www.perl.org/perl6/ and +get involved. + +The first alpha release is expected by Summer 2001. + +"We're really serious about reinventing everything that needs reinventing." +--Larry Wall =head2 How stable is Perl? @@ -123,10 +120,10 @@ and the rare new keyword). =head2 Is Perl difficult to learn? -No, Perl is easy to start learning -- and easy to keep learning. It looks +No, Perl is easy to start learning--and easy to keep learning. It looks like most programming languages you're likely to have experience with, so if you've ever written a C program, an awk script, a shell -script, or even a BASIC program, you're already part way there. +script, or even a BASIC program, you're already partway there. Most tasks only require a small subset of the Perl language. One of the guiding mottos for Perl development is "there's more than one way @@ -186,7 +183,7 @@ languages that come to mind include prolog and matlab. =head2 When shouldn't I program in Perl? -When your manager forbids it -- but do consider replacing them :-). +When your manager forbids it--but do consider replacing them :-). Actually, one good reason is when you already have an existing application written in another language that's all done (and done @@ -204,7 +201,7 @@ limitations given in the previous statement to some degree, but understand that Perl remains fundamentally a dynamically typed language, not a statically typed one. You certainly won't be chastised if you don't trust nuclear-plant or brain-surgery monitoring code to it. And Larry -will sleep easier, too -- Wall Street programs not withstanding. :-) +will sleep easier, too--Wall Street programs not withstanding. :-) =head2 What's the difference between "perl" and "Perl"? @@ -223,17 +220,17 @@ Larry doesn't really care. He says (half in jest) that "a script is what you give the actors. A program is what you give the audience." Originally, a script was a canned sequence of normally interactive -commands, that is, a chat script. Something like a UUCP or PPP chat +commands--that is, a chat script. Something like a UUCP or PPP chat script or an expect script fits the bill nicely, as do configuration scripts run by a program at its start up, such F<.cshrc> or F<.ircrc>, for example. Chat scripts were just drivers for existing programs, not stand-alone programs in their own right. A computer scientist will correctly explain that all programs are -interpreted, and that the only question is at what level. But if you +interpreted and that the only question is at what level. But if you ask this question of someone who isn't a computer scientist, they might tell you that a I has been compiled to physical machine code -once, and can then be run multiple times, whereas a I