Hi Brian & Nathan -- > In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Nathan Torkington) wrote: > > > > http://web.archive.org/web/19990501151656/www.perl.org/advocac > y/tech.html > > this turned into > > http://www.perl.org/phbs/reduce-risks.html
I would be *very* interested in working with someone to update this document. Perl needs strong advocacy which is readily available to every developer who has ever been asked: * Is Perl as good as Java? * Impossible! Perl doesn't have <buzz-feature de jour> -- it can't possibly be used for serious projects! How can it? * You can't write mission critical code without strong typing -- can you? * What serious projects have used Perl? * How popular is Perl? * Are schools even teaching Perl programming? * Why should we take a risk and use Perl instead of [C++|Java|VB]? (It's a risk, isn't it?) To go ever further: Perl also needs some sort of community "certification" for developers. TIMTOWTDI notwithstanding, there is a HUGE(!) gap between the best Perl coders and the worst. To be sure, the best Perl programmers are damn good programmers. Most of them know multiple languages, and are good in every language they use. (That's to be expected -- read Peopleware!) Unfortunately, the bad programmers are ten times more numerous, and are REALLY bad. I would like to see a database of programmers and organizations which have passed some sort of "Perl Software Engineering" certification. Right now, I have been using CPAN as a sort of certification. If a programmer has released code, and the code is good, they have a higher standing in my mind. I wish there was a way to give certification to all the other programmers and orgs which have not released code to CPAN, yet also possess the skills. IMHO, -Jesse- ---- Jesse Erlbaum, CTO Vanguard Media 212.242.5317 x115 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
