Re: [Nolug] Crappy Perl Code (was Re: Evo and Outlook)

Thou spake:

<snip>

>> And my point was that you shouldn't expect a newbie to maintain code
>> written by a guru, no matter what the language. Yet, this seems to
>> be the subtext of the argument put forth by some people who claim
>> that Perl encourages poorly written code.
>
>But the guru should not presume that only gurus will ever see or
>have to maintain his code. That's the issue, as I see it.

Does this mean that a guru should strive to write code below his level, just
so the next guy (presumably a non-guru) can read it? Quite often, I have seen
work that I thought was simply brilliant (code or whatever.. doesn't matter),
and it's made me think, taught me something, and helped me in my own work.

To pick up on an earlier remark in this thread, I don't consider myself a
programmer, and the code I write isn't that great. However, I understand
enough to realise that there are idioms in $language that are very powerful,
if implemented right. Perl is certainly one language that lends itself to
this, and I think that this is the major reason for me wanting to learn perl.
Perhaps one day I'll get to the level of some of the coders I've obsverved.

One other thing: perl is by nature a difficult language to master, and it is
also an extremely powerful one. Linux geeks, espesially good sysadmins, need
the power of languages such as perl, and so what if guru perl (or even guru
bash) is an elite art? For those that can't gro perl, there are lesser
languages like php (I use php quite a lot, btw) which are easier to
understand and use, so why shouldn't a good perl programmer operate at the
highest level of his skill? I'm not saying that this is an excuse to act
snooty --- I totally dismiss anyone that acts better than me, but admire
those that truly are, yet don't have swelled heads.

-- 
Joey Kelly
< Minister of the Gospel | Computer Networking Consultant >
http://joeykelly.net
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
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