On May 30, Scott Thompson said:
>While I couldn't agree more with both statements, I think it is the
>unfortunate reality that, with the recent (last 2 years... ) boom and
>subsequent bust of the Internet economy at large, there is a growing
>majority of beginning programmers who will fall into the "grab and go"
>mindset.
But surely you don't mean that this mentality is validated by its
following.
>And that brings me back around to my point. With the recent need for
>Perl hackers (among other related disciplines... ), a budding programmer
>didn't need to be an "expert" to land a high-paying, high-profile web
>development job. The demand far exceeded the supply. So, suddenly, you
>have relatively inexperienced beginners needing to produce results
>within a start-up's time frame. So instead of seeking knowledge for the
>sake of knowledge, you have an inordinate number of "greenhorns" looking
>for just enough information to get the job done.
And in that situation, one probably assumes that it's ok. Looking back,
I'd hope those people realize Perl needn't be a burden, but a tool.
The sad thing is that there arises a great rift: the many who use Perl
because they "have to" and "need to get that code" left and right, and the
few who study and appreciate the language, and are forced to interject,
lest the many inexperienced start tossing broken code back and forth.
If the learned programmers left comp.lang.perl.misc and alt.perl and this
mailing list, and just stopped caring about the newly inducted, the newly
inducted would, most likely, become to JAPHs what Orcs are to Elves[1].
>Other than to vent my own frustrations :), my point is this. Because of
>the influx of "new blood" there are quite a few beginning programmers
>who have not had the opportunity to REALLY learn the language they were
>hired to code in. And, because of the subsequent economic curve ball
>thrown to the IT industry at large, many of those budding JAPH's have a
>decision -- stay in the game or leave. Rather than complain about those
>who just "ask questions because they need the answer, not because they
>want to learn the answer," we as seasoned Perl programmers have the
>opportunity to pass on our love and enthusiasm for Perl and programming
>in general to those willing to embrace it.
Perl is a language that invokes a sense of community -- look at its
beginnings, and its creator (and founder). The language can be easily
abused, much like the wings of butterflies; the clumsy and uncareful can
make Perl seem ugly and ungainly and difficult. It is for us, the
learned, the JAPHs, to be sure new Perlers everywhere are introduced to
the language properly. Sometimes that requires hand-holding, and
sometimes it requires us to remove the training wheels.
>I've given my share of one-liner answers, but based on this particular
>thread, I personally am going to endeavor to inform others, as much as I
>am able, rather than just "answer questions".
I am all for enlightening and sharing knowledge. Sometimes, that means
pointing out the FAQ answer right in front of the poster's nose, if only
to inform the poster that such magical and wondrous documentation exists
and is easily accessible.
[1] From "The Silmarillion", by JRR Tolkien; specifically, "Of the Coming
of the Elves":
All those of the Quendi [Elves] who came into the hands of Melkor ...
were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted
and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous rave of the Orcs in
envy and mockery of the Elves ...
--
Jeff "japhy" Pinyan [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pobox.com/~japhy/
Are you a Monk? http://www.perlmonks.com/ http://forums.perlguru.com/
Perl Programmer at RiskMetrics Group, Inc. http://www.riskmetrics.com/
Acacia Fraternity, Rensselaer Chapter. Brother #734
** I need a publisher for my book "Learning Perl's Regular Expressions" **
