On Tue, Jul 24, 2007 at 12:37:18PM +0900, M. Edward (Ed) Borasky wrote:
> Kaldrenon wrote:
> 
> > I started on Perl because at the time it was the most un-Java language
> > I knew about, and I know it's considered beneficial to learn languages
> > that are very different from each other. I have since gained a lot of
> > exposure to just how many language choices there are  (and better ones
> > than Perl, at that), but I still would like to learn a little more
> > about Perl from a pure academic interest/curiosity standpoint.
> I wasn't aware there was anything "academic" in Perl -- it's just an
> immensely practical and pragmatic way of getting stuff done on
> computers. I don't know if there's anything inside a Perl implementation
> (at least not until Parrot) that would be as Earth-shaking as, say, call
> with concurrent continuation, tail recursion, or even what's in the Java
> Virtual Machine.

Considering Perl was created by a linguist, I'd think you might take that
as a cue for how to approach looking for its academic value.  It has an
approach to language design all its own -- and it's an approach that has
proven incredibly practical for producing a language worth using.

-- 
CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ]
Isaac Asimov: "Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is
completely programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest."