Elaine -HFB- Ashton responded:
> Most people I've talked to aren't giving Perl6 too much thought as it's
> still a lofty goal/idea rather than something coming down the pipe to a
> server near you today. Why worry about the nebulous concept of 'future
> Perl' when it's a long way off unless you are looking for an excuse to bag
> it?
>
> I would think that people should worry more about the lack of 5.6.1 being
> released and the long-term maintainence of Perl5 since it is what they are
> using now and what they will continue to use for the next 2 years or more.
>
> e.
I agree with you that a few of my clients seem to be focusing too much
concern about Perl 6 now. That was the reason for my original message. I
was surprised to see it and thought that the worries I heard were very
premature at a minimum. I didn't get an answer to my original question
though: Has anyone else seen this kind of negative response lately driven by
the news of a major rewrite/redesign in Perl 6?
My concern is that for advocacy we need to not only make clear what is being
done to enhance Perl but also present an image of sensibly controlled and
managed change. I didn't see anything to warrant my clients' concerns, but
wasn't able to attend the last Perl conference. I wanted to know whether
there was a lot of euthusiasm around Perl 6 that might be getting misread by
"pointy-haired managers".
Overall, from a developer's perspective it's always nice to hear about new
features and enhancements to a language or product that I use, but for
business managers, this is the kind of thing that can give them ulcers. It
is not totally unfounded concern either. At a large IT shop, large amounts
of resources get committed with each business managers' decisions on which
technology to support. I have been around long enough to remember business
managers that lost their jobs after committing to the DEC rainbow system,
which DEC later decided to drop and no longer support.
Some business managers may be overly sensitive to this stuff, but it can
present very real obstacles to getting Perl more widely accepted in larger
IT shops. There are a large number of very good arguments to say that the
concern is unfounded. I don't dispute that, but has anyone else run into
business types worked up over the Perl 6 news? If it is widespread, which I
doubt, the Perl community should consider what if anything can be done to
control the spin or head it off.
Bob Doucette
-----Original Message-----
From: Elaine -HFB- Ashton [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2000 12:08 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: backlash on rewrite/redesign of Perl -- feedback
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] quoth:
*>I was wondering if anyone else has run into the kind of negative feedback
*>placed on the public statements about Perl 6 is critical. I was surprised
*>to get such a direct and worried response.
Most people I've talked to aren't giving Perl6 too much thought as it's
still a lofty goal/idea rather than something coming down the pipe to a
server near you today. Why worry about the nebulous concept of 'future
Perl' when it's a long way off unless you are looking for an excuse to bag
it?
I would think that people should worry more about the lack of 5.6.1 being
released and the long-term maintainence of Perl5 since it is what they are
using now and what they will continue to use for the next 2 years or more.
e.
