> Elaine -HFB- Ashton wrote:
> >
> > However, every other profession seems to have some way of
> judging the
> > competence and skills of its ranks. It would seem to be
> something Perl
> > should revisit.
>
It is a feature of Perl that it operates at a wide range of levels in a
wide problem space. It is also a high level language and so cannot be
compared so easily with C/C++. A sysadmin might say 'I program perl' and
a web monkey might say 'I program perl' and someone who'd been working
on the Human Genome Project might say it and they could all mean quite
different things by it.
To say 'perl programmer' is not very helpful. To say 'Perl programming
with CGI/DBI' conveys at least knowledge of Perl5, modules, object
orientation and familiarity with references.
But even that does not restrict things much. A programmer who said 'ASP
programming with ADO' would mean that they know how to pass SQL
statements to an instance of the ADO object and then loop over and munge
about the resulting cursor object.
A programmer who said 'CGI programming with DBI' might mean a similar
level of knowledge, or they might mean that they have sub-classed DBI
into a larger content management system, or written their own templating
system.
I think this is why people clamour for Perl certification. That and Matt
Wright :-).
> those other languages. For example, in marketing myself as a C/C++
> programmer, I have never been asked, neither by a recruiter nor by
> a direct employer, if I have certs in C/C++.
>
> This, I believe, works well, and is a credit to the C/C++ community.
> It would be a credit to our community as well.
As an employer I've wished that there was some kind of Perl
certification. It is difficult to convey on a c.v. just what your level
and experience in Perl is. It is impossible to convey it in a manner
that an HR generalist can understand. Since I don't love to spend hours
going through c.v.s it would be nice if I could tell the HR people 'I
need someone with experience of Camel Grade 4 or above.' I couldn't of
course care less whether they _have_ Camel Grade 4, I just need an
agreed benchmark that can be succinctly expressed and understood by all
the people in the recruitment chain.
**********************************************************************
COLT Telecommunications
Registered in England No. 2452736
Registered Office: Bishopsgate Court, 4 Norton Folgate, London E1 6DQ
Tel. 0171 390 3900
This message is subject to and does not create or vary any contractual
relationship between COLT Telecommunications, its subsidiaries or
affiliates ("COLT") and you. Internet communications are not secure
and therefore COLT does not accept legal responsibility for the
contents of this message. Any view or opinions expressed are those of
the author. The message is intended for the addressee only and its
contents and any attached files are strictly confidential. If you have
received it in error, please telephone the number above. Thank you.
**********************************************************************
