On 26 November 2012 23:26, Kieren Diment <dim...@gmail.com> wrote: > cross learning a different language in the same class as perl (wide field) is > clearly trivial for a competent perl programmer (for some value of trivial > that implies an initial discount on productivity or billable hours). >
This. 100 times. > So maybe what we should be promoting is that good perl people are valuable in > any dynamic language situation where doing things the cheapest possible way > isn't the primary goal. (not that perl's expensive - just a focus on cheap at > all costs tends to be a sign of very bad management or a toxic industry > segment). > Between your previous replies, and this one, I'm a bit confused on your stance (so forgive me if I misunderstand). Surely a good Perl developer is a good <$lang> developer as well? Surely such a developer would take the time to learn one or two other languages... I agree with your premise, but I can't agree with the conclusion. Based on your first statement, there is no need to "push", promote, or force Perl onto any client or employer. Perl is not a marketing product, it's not a political party, and not a religion. I don't agree with pushing agendas in this way, even though much of FOSS seems to be going this way recently (I'm surprised those projects don't see the irony in their actions). I think David H was simply asking about positive involvement within the tech community. Sharing our enjoyment of it, our creativity, our lessons from it. This is the best way to see changes of opinion in the people we meet.