Re: Roll Call
On 11/08/2002 12:09 PM, Michael Lazzaro wrote: If you wish to take part in the discussions (or even just lurk), please reply to this message. If you have any particular goals that you feel this list should be addressing, please let us know. I'll probably lurk here, on and off, via NNTP. So far, it looks like a very nice list -- high signal, low noize, and it's possible to keep it all straight in your head. -=- James Mastros
Re: Roll Call
> "Michael" == Michael Lazzaro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Michael> If you wish to take part in the discussions (or even just lurk), Michael> please reply to this message. If you have any particular goals that Michael> you feel this list should be addressing, please let us know. I'm here, swirling in the mist of trying to understand all of the progress, and figuring out how Stonehenge is going to remain the world's leading on-site and open-enrollment Perl training company. :) Not to mention how much Learning Perl and other books will have to change. Anyone have a spare supply of irons? Mine are all in the fires already. :) -- Randal L. Schwartz - Stonehenge Consulting Services, Inc. - +1 503 777 0095 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.stonehenge.com/merlyn/> Perl/Unix/security consulting, Technical writing, Comedy, etc. etc. See PerlTraining.Stonehenge.com for onsite and open-enrollment Perl training!
Re: Roll Call
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Michael Lazzaro) wrote in news:CB2CAEFE-F33C- [EMAIL PROTECTED]: > > This message is to open the perl6-documentation list. First things > first, can we get a quick roll call of who is interested in this > effort, at least in abstract principle? No point in having discussions > unless/until there is a critical mass here. > > If you wish to take part in the discussions (or even just lurk), please > reply to this message. If you have any particular goals that you feel > this list should be addressing, please let us know. > > MikeL > A Lurker checking in. I'll read and think and very, very, very rarely post something. but I can't wait. TTFN, Struan.
Re: Roll Call
On Fri, Nov 08, 2002 at 07:07:47PM +, Richard Nuttall wrote: > One further comment on the differences. Bother MYSQL and PHP are much > more simple languages, and the bulk of their references are functional, > breaking down into a neat hierarchy. Perl6 needs documentation that > slices a number of ways, since the syntax and structures are much richer > and need much more explanation, specially to newbies. This is again > where an online, web-based resource will work well. Indeed. A command-line utility like perldoc that could slice-n-dice the documentation for you would be nice too. -Scott -- Jonathan Scott Duff [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Roll Call
Carlos Ramirez wrote: > I like Rex's all-in-one reference guide > http://www.rexswain.com/perl5.html > > And perldoc.com for a more comprehensive reference resource ;)~ It's true, I use perldoc all the time. :-) Beats trying to "less" through the man pages by a wide shot. Let me ask you, Carlos -- if you could have the people to rebuild perldoc from the ground up, what changes would _you_ want to make? Is there anything that still drives you nuts? MikeL
Re: Roll Call
Michael Lazzaro writes: > This message is to open the perl6-documentation list. First things > first, can we get a quick roll call of who is interested in this > effort, at least in abstract principle? No point in having > discussions unless/until there is a critical mass here. > > If you wish to take part in the discussions (or even just lurk), > please reply to this message. If you have any particular goals that > you feel this list should be addressing, please let us know. Well, I'll probably be mostly lurking and summarizing every week. -- Piers "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a language in possession of a rich syntax must be in need of a rewrite." -- Jane Austen?
Re: Roll Call
I think tutorials and code samples are a good start, especially to get started. In addition a reference manual (list) of builtins for quick lookups like perfunc would be helpful too. I like Rex's all-in-one reference guide http://www.rexswain.com/perl5.html And perldoc.com for a more comprehensive reference resource ;)~ -Carlos Luke Palmer wrote: Date: Fri, 8 Nov 2002 16:44:48 -0600 Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Disposition: inline From: Allison Randal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Luke Palmer wrote: Yeah. I like that the best. Have a big bunch of small to medium sized POD pages, cross-reference them together, and convert them to web, texinfo, man, and all of that. Extensions? Caveats? Take a look at perldoc.com. Yep. An awful lot like that. Except smaller pages, each describing a single concept or function. Then cross-reference to related ideas. Plus tutorials and all that stuff. Luke
Re: Roll Call
Better late then never...count me in. Michael Lazzaro wrote: This message is to open the perl6-documentation list. First things first, can we get a quick roll call of who is interested in this effort, at least in abstract principle? No point in having discussions unless/until there is a critical mass here. If you wish to take part in the discussions (or even just lurk), please reply to this message. If you have any particular goals that you feel this list should be addressing, please let us know. MikeL
Re: Perl5 Docs (was Re: Roll Call)
Michael Lazzaro wrote:
On Friday, November 8, 2002, at 11:07 AM, Richard Nuttall wrote:
I presonally use a combination of documentation for programming, and
find the Perl documentation more difficult to use than many.
That's an interesting observation -- I'd love to hear more thoughts on
that. Is it simply that, as you said further down, they are not
adequately cross-sliced, or are there other problems? Do you think
the current documentation is one of the reasons many people find Perl
so opaque, or is it simply the nature of the language?
One reason is that much of the strength of Perl is in the modules.
Trying to find out which if any modules are the wheel that I am about to
reinvent can be difficult. Often, you end up with several competing
modules, and then need to make a decision about which to use.
Since Perl6 will allow almost infinite extension of the language, this
will become more of an issue.
Since I don't (any more) write Perl all day, every day, just need to
write a few hundred line script on a regular basis, I find it takes as
much time to find out which modules will do most of what I need as it
does to write the script.
When you are embedded in the language all the time, of course you don't
need the documentation since you are breathing it, but for me the power
of Perl is that it is completely deterministic for writing moderate
length scripts :
1. Rough out (in head) functionality required.
2. Look for modules that give some support. (assuming I need a module I
haven't used before)
3. Copy my favourite template script with :
use warnings;
use DBI;
use Getopt::Long;
use Data::Dumper;
use LWP::Simple;
4. Copy example from module pod documentation.
5. Write and test code.
I can fairly much guarantee that most scripts I need to write can be
done in a couple of hours, tops,
will work at the end of that time and will be easy to update/modify.
Things (documentation) that would help that be more efficient :
1. Libraries of code samples with cross referencing (e.g. Perlmonks.org
has code stuff, but not sure
enough of finding what I need.)
2. More structured & documented module mechanism. (Where does Perl6 end
and modules begin ?)
3. Faster, more certain function/capabilility search. ("How do I ")
R.
