S
stu7
+
...or is it ?
Lets look at what are likely the top reasons his book
company would have laid Larry off... well, first things
first... book sales down... but why ? Isn't PERL the most
popular thing to come around since email ? Sure... but,
who is it popular with ?
I first saw Perl the day it was released... I was IRCing
and somebody came around announcing this new thing, Perl, so
I checked it out... I forget what it offered at that time.
Since then, of course, Perl has grown immensely, and to
anyone willing to look, it is obvious that Perl now offers
an excellent programming framework, and endless specialized
support modules - Perl has, in addition, become a world effort...
but, to a commercial venture - a book publisher, for instance,
Perl is a gooey spit-out... it's a top grade product, with the
unfortunate reputation of being an internet no-no... why ?
Perl is NOT a professional offering... trying to make it
on a commercial level... there simply are no official
repesentatives of Perl - to anyone looking for help, we either
"buy a book", or, more often, [consult an internet Perl user
group]... this is where the goo gets sticky.
I would guess there aren't one-in-twenty prospective perl
users, who, after consulting one of the "internet Perl sources",
has had the positive response they expected, or even remains
very interested in using or learning Perl thereafter... goodbye
Perl reputation... Perl, suddenly, doesn't have any commercial
viability, when all it means is getting berated by a group of
self-styled technique experts, "discussion leaders", and, again,
anything BUT the [support people] any newcomer might expect
for real computer programming material.
There are other serious issues with Perl, not the least of
which was the prosecution of one of it's principals for "hacking"...
this charge never seemed entirely warranted, but the story doesn't
make Perl any more attractive, commercially.
Perl, I feel, remains unappreciated by most people, whether
or not they have used it extensively... but the real point of
this message was to bail out Larry W... or at least explain his
plight, and offer a possible answer. I, for one, find it
unlikely he would sacrifice economic security for the sake of
developing a new Perl framework... maybe, part of the new Perl
was to exclude some of the amateurish, stiflingly ineffacious
"expert documentation", or developmental directions...
...otherwise, it can't really be argued - Perl has real
usefulness, and there are likely endless business ventures who
could offer L.W. substantial monetary aid in exchange for his
expertise... but what is the real issue here ?
Is it even Perl related ? Is it open-source versus MicroSoft ?
Is it possible one gigantic freeware package is simply enough to
expect of one person in their lives ?
Linus got a job... why shouldn't Larry ?
I don't think either of them would, or should, opt for
dependency on an uncertain thing like the WWW/Internet... why
the whole Dot/Com blowout, do we imagine ? Its the same problem...
no permanence, solidity, or lasting value there... a boom market
with it's own built-in bust clientele.
I hope L.W. finds his way out of whatever problem it is,
sooner than later. Perl is perhaps as valuable as a lesson to
those who (wrongly) accept the Internet as an opportunity it
never proved itself to be.
...or is it ?
Lets look at what are likely the top reasons his book
company would have laid Larry off... well, first things
first... book sales down... but why ? Isn't PERL the most
popular thing to come around since email ? Sure... but,
who is it popular with ?
I first saw Perl the day it was released... I was IRCing
and somebody came around announcing this new thing, Perl, so
I checked it out... I forget what it offered at that time.
Since then, of course, Perl has grown immensely, and to
anyone willing to look, it is obvious that Perl now offers
an excellent programming framework, and endless specialized
support modules - Perl has, in addition, become a world effort...
but, to a commercial venture - a book publisher, for instance,
Perl is a gooey spit-out... it's a top grade product, with the
unfortunate reputation of being an internet no-no... why ?
Perl is NOT a professional offering... trying to make it
on a commercial level... there simply are no official
repesentatives of Perl - to anyone looking for help, we either
"buy a book", or, more often, [consult an internet Perl user
group]... this is where the goo gets sticky.
I would guess there aren't one-in-twenty prospective perl
users, who, after consulting one of the "internet Perl sources",
has had the positive response they expected, or even remains
very interested in using or learning Perl thereafter... goodbye
Perl reputation... Perl, suddenly, doesn't have any commercial
viability, when all it means is getting berated by a group of
self-styled technique experts, "discussion leaders", and, again,
anything BUT the [support people] any newcomer might expect
for real computer programming material.
There are other serious issues with Perl, not the least of
which was the prosecution of one of it's principals for "hacking"...
this charge never seemed entirely warranted, but the story doesn't
make Perl any more attractive, commercially.
Perl, I feel, remains unappreciated by most people, whether
or not they have used it extensively... but the real point of
this message was to bail out Larry W... or at least explain his
plight, and offer a possible answer. I, for one, find it
unlikely he would sacrifice economic security for the sake of
developing a new Perl framework... maybe, part of the new Perl
was to exclude some of the amateurish, stiflingly ineffacious
"expert documentation", or developmental directions...
...otherwise, it can't really be argued - Perl has real
usefulness, and there are likely endless business ventures who
could offer L.W. substantial monetary aid in exchange for his
expertise... but what is the real issue here ?
Is it even Perl related ? Is it open-source versus MicroSoft ?
Is it possible one gigantic freeware package is simply enough to
expect of one person in their lives ?
Linus got a job... why shouldn't Larry ?
I don't think either of them would, or should, opt for
dependency on an uncertain thing like the WWW/Internet... why
the whole Dot/Com blowout, do we imagine ? Its the same problem...
no permanence, solidity, or lasting value there... a boom market
with it's own built-in bust clientele.
I hope L.W. finds his way out of whatever problem it is,
sooner than later. Perl is perhaps as valuable as a lesson to
those who (wrongly) accept the Internet as an opportunity it
never proved itself to be.