Beefy Boxes and Bandwidth Generously Provided by pair Networks Bob
Just another Perl shrine

Re^2: What do you think about having a tool for PERL ?

by philcrow (Priest)
on Nov 26, 2007 at 15:14 UTC ( #653001=note: print w/ replies, xml ) Need Help??

in reply to Re: What do you think about having a tool for PERL ?

I'm immediately drawn to this argument about both food and code. Who wouldn't rather have home cooking than canned food?

But, on reflection I have to consider what is "scratch" cooking. Is a pie still made from scratch if I buy a crust and only make the filling? What about if I buy flour already ground? Would it only be from scratch if I bought wheat instead (or grew it myself for ultimate freshness)?

In programming, I don't ultimately like scratch much, if it means assembly or even C. Perl has a lot of benefits. But, it does diminish my understanding, since I've never written a regex engine and I haven't implemented a hash since college. I'm willing to let others do those things.

The history of programming (more so than the history of cooking) is about moving the definition of scratch up the stack. And so it is for the OP and previous commentators. While I don't use an IDE myself (and I insist that a language is too complex, if you must use one to write in it), I don't disparage those who do. Why shouldn't we endorse commoditization of common tasks? That is really our whole history.


The Gantry Web Framework Book is now available.

Comment on Re^2: What do you think about having a tool for PERL ?
Re^3: What do you think about having a tool for PERL ?
by talexb (Canon) on Nov 26, 2007 at 16:52 UTC

    All things in moderation, including moderation. (Author unknown.)

    I consider myself very lucky to have developed software using assembler (a bit-slice processor in the late 70's, the 6809, x86 and 68000 in the 80's and 90's), then C (late 70's to the late 90's) and finally Perl (late 90's until now). I don't need to build my own hardware or write my own assembler or compiler, but I know enough about doing those things that I appreciate what's going on underneath. So by all means build on the work that others have done before you, as long as you appreciate the history that has gone before you.

    And I have made my own pastry and pizza dough, from scratch -- yes, it's a little more work, but it's worth it if you have the time. And when time is short, it's fine to use a good quality prepared ingredient. Just as long as you have a deep understanding of what the meal (or the code) is made from.

    Alex / talexb / Toronto


Log In?

What's my password?
Create A New User
Node Status?
node history
Node Type: note [id://653001]
and the web crawler heard nothing...

How do I use this? | Other CB clients
Other Users?
Others cooling their heels in the Monastery: (6)
As of 2014-03-14 04:13 GMT
Find Nodes?
    Voting Booth?

    Have you used a cryptocurrency?

    Results (299 votes), past polls