To go through a few points that has arisen:
o Why do I think "@" is useless?
OK clearly @x is a list. Good old perl4.
But what is $x[3] ?
It could be a scalar.
BUT it could be a reference to a list.
It could be a reference to a 2D PDL image.
etc.
so clearly we have no real idea what it is or how to handle it. The @x
case may have been useful in Perl4 but the world is now much more complicated.
o Why do I think perl has too much line noise? Because of code like this:
@{$x->{$$fred{Blah}}}[1..3]
I believe we need to think of ways of trying to sort out the messes use
of references in perl currently promote. One way is to make everything a
$x as I outlined, then have everything which is not a simple scalar passed
by reference automatically. Clearly there could be other solutions but
something must be done.
People on this list seem very passionate about these sort of constructs, but
I think if one took a poll of less godlike users there would be a different
opionion.
I've read all the articles about context and grammar and about Perl being the
first post-modern lanuage too.
o Why don't I just bugger off and use python?
Well I am getting tempted. :) Seriously I like perl, I like it's easy control
structures and it's lack of object-mania. It's much better for simple stuff.
Now I've been told several times to bugger off and use python can we take
that argument as read and get back to some more constructive discussion about
what is good in Perl, and what is good in Python too and how Perl might be
improved.
Karl
