------------------------------------------------ On Fri, 6 Dec 2002 00:03:43 -0700, "John-Michael Keyes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > Awright, I'm gonna float this one, even if it == $off_topic++; > > And I float to this group first, because I'm writing mostly > ActiveState-deployed Perl on a pilfered Mac running Jag.2.2 and a > vanilla Perl install in an MSUBERALL shop. (And BBEdit is still the > envy, and bane, of my Windows brethren: "Regex this... studio-boy!") > Yes, my days are weird, but entertaining. > > So the reality that I live with is: > a. Perl is the "Language of Last Resort" culturally in the > organization. > b. Despite the fact that Perl is running mission-critical in EVERY > aspect of our business. > c. And because of (a.) MANAGEMENT doesn't know how much (b.) is going > on. > d. if this $ENV is atypical, let me know ([EMAIL PROTECTED]), and stop > reading, but if this resonates, maybe a Barnumesque maneuver is > mandated... > > Because, I think there is a growing perception "out there" that is > depreciating the value of Perl, and we need to counterfud/act it (I'm > still not sure which) now or soon. > > My notion is that collectively, we add some vocabulary to the gestalt > of development... Maybe we call it Mission Critical Perl. You know, > it's not com, it's dotnet (I mean .NET). So, it's not Perl it's .MCP. > > What is Mission Critical Perl? > It's code that gets the job done. > It's strongly commented, both in architecture and execution. (Yeah, I > know. Perl is self commenting. Comment more anyway dammmit.) > It logs actions. (No matter how trivial, without metrics - it ain't > important. This is essential, if EVERY script you've written isn't > logging, write a .pm, go back and include it. We can't show 'em how > much we're doing with Perl unless we have a bar graph.) > It's code reviewed. > It's heralded: Mission Critical Perl. Maybe even .MCP > > ..MCP When what you need is: RAD, Reliable, Reporting and Robust. > > So there's my teaser. If I'm alone, cool. I've been meaning to polish > the bytes on my resume. But if you're in the same scenario, let's start > a movement. > > JMK > > PS. Tim O., Think about "A Manager's Guide to Leveraging Corporate Perl > Assets," the Killer Whale Book. > <soapbox> I would say you are correct about the general attitude towards Perl and the number of environments similar to yours is probably staggering, I am in one. However I disagree with the actions you suggest and whether any need be taken at all. Adding just another acronym that means nothing, and adds no value turns Perl into the very thing those other tools/languages, etc. have turned into. I also feel that the very reason so many of us love Perl is because it does "Just get the job done, NOW", but if you add a bunch of vaporware marketing then it becomes some tangible item that the business side (yeh I know, but I am not just some dumb developer, like so many of us I have a business degree) throws around over their bagel at starbucks and then we spend hours in meetings talking about the latest innovations in MCP (which I think is already taken, M$ Certified Pro or something dumb like that) rather than doing the real work we have been doing while our VB buddies go and talk about w! hatever the new project (of course starting with those 4 little letters, "Open") is going to waste time and money for our companies today. I agree with the need to express to our colleagues (not peers) the benefits of Perl and that it is *Enterprise*, *Mission Critical*, *Metric Oriented*, etc. but I also feel that there is a flight to quality happening right now and Perl will be embraced on its merits not on some conjured hype. I think the same goes/went for unix, just because M$ owns the desktop we all know the majority of the mission critical stuff is being done on unix, and right now there is a flight to quality going on, and it is a movement from windoze to Linux and OS X, (Open|Free)BSD, etc. After reading it, I think that this quote from drieux sums things up nicely: "Perl is required when management is confused about the goals." But I could be wrong..... ;-) </soapbox> I think the biggest reason Perl faces what you suggest is because it was so overwhelming adopted by the CGI/Web community, and no one does anything *important* on the web ;-). http://danconia.org
