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

On Sun, 2003-07-13 at 15:03, Joey Kelly wrote:
> 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.

It's possible to write great, powerful s/w that doesn't have to be
for someone with "average" (how's that for a subjective word?) skill
to understand with only moderate effort.

-- 
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| Ron Johnson, Jr.     Home: ron.l.johnson@cox.net          |
| Jefferson, LA  USA   http://members.cox.net/ron.l.johnson |
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| 4 degrees from Vladimir Putin
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