Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 11:14:09 -0700 (MST) From: Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org> To: msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au (Michael Smith) Cc: ejs@bfd.com, hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Who needs Perl? We do! Message-ID: <199611191814.LAA09210@phaeton.artisoft.com> In-Reply-To: <199611190132.MAA25471@genesis.atrad.adelaide.edu.au> from "Michael Smith" at Nov 19, 96 12:02:02 pm
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> I'm aware that people will want to scream, but I _do_ believe that we > should take some steps towards incorporating perl in the base system, > as we have done (successfully, and IMHO very usefully) with Tcl. [ ... ] > - a contrib-ready Perl, at release quality. ie., not the 'patch de jour' > but the equivalent of a -STABLE version. > > - an undertaking from several to keep an eye on Perl development, and > update the in-contrib Perl as appropriate. This is the rub. PERL is not stable over the release cycle period for FreeBSD. People are *always* complaining "why don't you upgrade your PERL?", even when it it well known that an upgrade frequently requires updating all of the PERL-dependent scripts to the new syntax, since the syntax is not sufficiently stable. For FreeBSD, the biggest problem is PERL dependent ports and MajorDomo; PERL upgrades have been delayed for MajorDomo more than once in the past. > A point to consider : I _loathe_ Perl. Reading it gives me a > headache, and I would sooner snort powdered lithium than program in > it. Understand that I think Perl is relevant for what it is, and not > what I feel about it. At STP, Lithium is a gas. 8-). Terry Lambert terry@lambert.org --- Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present or previous employers.
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