How comes (goes?) Perl 6?

[David Combs]

What's it been, a decade already, that it's been being worked
on?

Perl, of course, is one hairy piece of code. But you'd think
there'd be something usable by now. (And maybe there is, and
I just don't know about it!)

So far I've noticed only one book on it, written three or four
years ago, I guess. Are there now others?

Is anyone using it yet for actual paid work, for mission-critical
applications?

---

Has the Perl 6 development group grown or shrunk in, say, the
last five years?

If the answer is "shrunk", any ideas of why? Personal differences
within the group? Endless arguments on features and their syntax?
Or just plain burn-out?

---

About Perl 5: are there enough changes since the 3rd ed of
Programming Perl to be worth a 4th ed? (Is the market big
enough to make it pay?)

If not that, then maybe a free or non-free *supplement* to it,
with replacement pages for those showing methods for which
there are now better approaches?

(Of course the answer of a full new edition depends on
Perl 6 progress.)

---

Once Perl 6 does come out and starts getting real (paying) use,
what's the usual estimate for continued development of Perl 5?

(Forever, maybe, since presumably 5 and 6 are almost totally
incompatible, that eg an application via Perl 5 won't be easily
convertible to 6.)


Thanks so much!

David

 

[brian d foy]

About Perl 5: are there enough changes since the 3rd ed of
Programming Perl to be worth a 4th ed? (Is the market big
enough to make it pay?)

The 3rd Edition covered Perl 5.6, while the new edition covers up to
Perl 5.16. Some things that are important there:

* All the new features and keywords from Perl 5.10 and on
* Much better Unicode support and ways of using it
* Lots (lots!) more regex features and syntax
* CPAN has evolved quite a bit

I think there were more than enough changes and the update was long
overdue.

 

[brian d foy]

The cover says 5.14, not 5.16.

There is some 5.16 stuff in there, but since 5.16 was coming out at the
same time as the book, we didn't want to claim to cover that version.

 

[David Combs]

There is some 5.16 stuff in there, but since 5.16 was coming out at the
same time as the book, we didn't want to claim to cover that version.

Then let me ask this:

I suppose this will be the final version of PP for perl-5?

If so, then for those of us who have that new version (me, amazon
tonight), on the errata page, periodic (and separate) new-feature
files, that we can print out and stick in the book next to the
various pages to be updated?

And Brian, thanks for all the hard work you guys took on, updating
that MONSTER book. (Reading it: drinking from a fire hose!)


David

 

[brian d foy]

I suppose this will be the final version of [Programming Perl] for perl-5?

When Tom and I were working on Programming Perl, 4th Edition, we had in
mind a book that could last several years. But, I can't say what will
happen with Perl 5 or if enough people will keep buying the book to
make it attractive to the publisher to update it. We're not thinking
about another update at the moment.