Just to clarify some of my terminology, when I speak of an enterprise, I do
not mean a "for-profit organization".
An enterprise, to me, is simply a large and complex organization with a
lifetime that extends beyond any individual set of developers.
While it is true that most enterprises are large corporates or MNCs, there
is no reason that enterprise technology would not be highly appropriate for
large non-profits or government agencies.
I think that it is great that Perl is accessible to those with few
resources.
In terms of concrete advocacy, I myself have written over half a dozen Perl
books (of which all have been put online after publication) and dozens of
e-zine and meat-space articles over the last 7 years with the explicit
intention to make Perl more accessible to beginners or those with no means
to buy books or classes.
The open source aspect of Perl inspired me to build one of the first open
source CGI script archives on the web. Those scripts, by the way, have been
installed at hundreds of sites outside of the west and I probably spent a
cumulative 3 years of work supporting them for free.
So don't get the impression that I don't find public service to be a crucial
and continuing part of advocacy. What I am concerned with is that our
advocacy addresses a niche which I think it has avoided to its detriment.
What I am concerned about is that advocacy is broadly based and that we set
in place positive actions to advocate perl in many different arenas,
especially those in which we have not had much impact.
More importantly, I want to be able to provide open source enterprise-level
solutions to developers in Cambodia. Why should SUN and Microsoft own the
market and why should Perl developers get any less (or any fewer resources
or options)?
-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick Carmichael [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Saturday, August 25, 2001 2:10 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Let perl be Perl
Abigail wrote:
[snip]
>
> When comparing Java with Perl, one should realize that *anyone* can add
> things to Perl - all you need is working code and rough concensus among
> peers. Quite different from Java, C++ or C. This has both advantages and
> benefits.
>
[snip]
Sorry to bang on about this *again* but this is an major part of the case
for
Perl as the basis of IT development in Less Economically Developed countries
- I brought this up over the issue of certification, but it is broader than
that. [I am aware that Abigail mentions the role of the WWW in the LEDC
context at http://www.foad.org/~abigail/WWW/dream.html ]
One of the key concepts in Development Work generally is that of 'Capacity
Building'. There is a useful review of what this means at:
http://www.oneworld.org/ecdpm/pubs/wp14_gb.htm
Cohen ('Building sustainable public sector managerial, professional and
technical capacity: A framework for analysis and intervention.' 1993)
defines capacity building as "strengthening targeted human resources
(managerial, professional and technical) in particular institutions
and to provide those institutions with the means whereby these resources can
be marshalled and sustained effectively to perform planning, policy
formulation, and implementation tasks on any priority topic."
In other words - it's about strengthening existing capabilities (not pushing
people off to 'learn' how to do things according to some external model);
involving policy-makers, practitioners and users in the direction in which
the 'project' goes; and making sure it is 'sustainable' - it will last. No
dependence on external certification; specific platforms or
hardware/software
prerequisites. And (ideally) all taking place in an environment where
expertise is not only recognised but shared too.
This sounds like the way in which Free Software in general - and Perl in
particular - can work. (note 'can' rather than 'does' - I'm a realist!)
I'm aware that much of the debate on this list recently has related to
advocating and celebrating Perl use in business environments - though Lisa
Nyman's use of Perl in the U.S. Census *has* raised a lot of interest.
I'd find it very depressing if I felt that (as someone said in an earlier
message, advocacy equated to money) and that the targets seen as being
worthy
of Perl advertising and advocacy were solely in the business world.
Is this an area for Perl advocacy? Or is my choice of software development
environment for non-profit projects at best incidental and at worst
irrelevant?
Yours-feeling-as-though-I'm-banging-my-head-against-a-wall-but-not-ready-to-
use-VB-yet,
Patrick Carmichael
Lecturer in IT and Education
University of Reading
