John Porter said:
> that long post contained nothing that anyone
> reading perl6-language isn't already
> fully conscious of. At least, IMHO.
I admit I took artistic license with my point. I should have expected
programers to prefer short, logical statements (preferably ending with
semicolons).
Try again...
Much discussion here (even still) is about how to make Perl easier for
others to learn and use, witness change "unlink" to "remove" discussion,
among others. Turns-out that *is* a valid point. Most people who use Python
(a language that considers itself an alternative to Perl) would agree too.
You could say they wanted Python and they knew where to find it. Should we
care?
In the MLC discussion I have read many comments about how various "C-style"
features would be easier for people to learn, remember, and use. In fact the
MLC discussion itself was inspired by a desire to make Perl more C-like
(actually Java-like) in how it handles comments. Is this a worthwhile
argument, even on its own?
Should we care if more people are using Python, TCL, or ASP this month? Is
this a popularity contest? Many here (it seems) will say that Perl is great
already, lets worship it. But in my opinion being popular *should* be a goal
of Perl. Afterall, would I use Perl if I couldn't find a job that required
it, or a book written about it, or a website explaining it, or a module
available for it? Honestly, no -- I don't have enough time to waste. Once
that happens a language is as good as dead, and no further discussion is
necessary. That leaves the question however: How far are we willing to (or
should we) go, "just to be popular"? Are we already there?
I do realize this has already been touched upon here, though I don't think
it was resolved, and I was just trying to approach it in a novel way. Its a
shadow that rightfully should hang over every discussion here.
