perl regex

[peterchan75]

Using your rationale that we only need to learn just enough to get work done, then it must be really easy to build a rocket right? we all wanted to get work done, but that doesn't mean learning just enough, because you simply do not know where is the line to be drawn to consider just enough. Do you feel what you know now is enough to get the job done? You only know you need to know more when you meet up with issues, but often the next step to learn what is necessary has prerequisites, and just objective driven may not be the most optimal way to learning. You will be learning blindly if you are doing so

People like you maybe in the top 2% of the software knowledge in term normal distribution. As for me, just enough to get the job done is sufficient. Thanks to you folks here I learn a lot. Since software is application, it's easier to learn when applying it.

 

[ykgoh]

Peter, if your system is not enterprise system kind of software, you can at least narrow down to just your Perl script running on a single PC.

If you put together an enterprise system without knowing how they work together, and when they don't work (which is most of the time), you don't even know where to start troubleshooting! It's not a matter of whether you are willing to do OT for 7x7 49 days straight.

When we put everything like firewalls, web proxies, database, application servers, enterprise service bus (ESB), workflow engine, load balancers, reverse proxies, caching servers into 1 big pot, it's gonna be madness and hell on earth!

But in IT, people assume 1 guy should know and handle everything. But in NASA, they take thousands of specialists to design and build individual parts and finally launch a mission. I am pretty sure the rocket guys don't mess with the space shuttle itself, and the mission control guys don't mess with the rocket fuel.

 

[peterchan75]

Peter, if your system is not enterprise system kind of software, you can at least narrow down to just your Perl script running on a single PC.

If you put together an enterprise system without knowing how they work together, and when they don't work (which is most of the time), you don't even know where to start troubleshooting! It's not a matter of whether you are willing to do OT for 7x7 49 days straight.

When we put everything like firewalls, web proxies, database, application servers, enterprise service bus (ESB), workflow engine, load balancers, reverse proxies, caching servers into 1 big pot, it's gonna be madness and hell on earth!

But in IT, people assume 1 guy should know and handle everything. But in NASA, they take thousands of specialists to design and build individual parts and finally launch a mission. I am pretty sure the rocket guys don't mess with the space shuttle itself, and the mission control guys don't mess with the rocket fuel.

No at such a scale. No rocket science.
Just drop into a folder and users can access and drill the data on spreadsheet. As long as the users are happy... I am also happy ... can liao ! Basically, the data has grown too big for Excel. Hopefully the data will grow beyond perl.

PS: As long as I know what perl is doing. Don't think I am two steps from hell.

 

[ykgoh]

No at such a scale. No rocket science.
Just drop into a folder and users can access and drill the data on spreadsheet. As long as the users are happy... I am also happy ... can liao ! Basically, the data has grown too big for Excel. Hopefully the data will grow beyond perl.

PS: As long as I know what perl is doing. Don't think I am two steps from hell.

You can start reading up A Short Guide to DBI now.

 

[peterchan75]

You can start reading up A Short Guide to DBI now.

It seems like you can foretell the future.
Both my conscious and subconscious minds are resisting that direction.
Damn... I miss out that "NOT."

 

[averagevic]

perl regex is tough

 

[davidktw]

perl regex is tough

And it's only the tip of the iceberg

 

[Maeda_Toshiie]

perl regex is tough

And probably the most powerful part of Perl, which in turn is the reason why Perl is alive in its own niche of text processing.

 

[davidktw]

And probably the most powerful part of Perl, which in turn is the reason why Perl is alive in its own niche of text processing.

As a s/w developer coming from an unix background, Perl does offers compelling reason for its survival.

The first and foremost is like what you have mentioned, it's (not so regular) regex. The closest as I could find is in Ruby, but even Ruby lack a few interesting features found in Perl, such as the ability to insert codes into Perl regex.

Next Perl is found in almost all *nix I have came across. No I'm not referring to Linux. These days, modern *nix developers probably only knows Linux. You can find it readily available in Solaris, HP-UX, BSD and I assume AIX too.

Someone else might correct me if I'm mistaken, Python may be installed by default in Linux due to much of the base scripting uses it such as for Redhat. Ruby probably for Linux too, but I think these 2 languages are not required in other *nix. They are pretty much still on shell scripts and perl only for their startup scripts.

If one deals with Apache HTTPd, mod_perl was the only configuration scripting tool until V2.4 where mod_lua is only available. If you know Perl, learning mod_perl comes easy with scoping caveats.

I wouldn't compare repository size since it is rather meaningless. A project don't need a lot of modules, rather what are the working and relevant modules that best fit. At least for CPAN, it is still rather active and new modules are added

Fortunately and also unfortunately, Perl is a rather esoteric language. I don't call it difficult since it merely has a steep hurdle, not in my opinion, a steep learning curve. Get pass the hurdle and you will find the language rather beautiful, but that is really for people like me whom love the intricacy of a programming language. Hence if you know Perl, it is something to be proud of since you get less and less developers wanting to know it because they feel it is a difficult language, just like less and less developers wanting to learn VIM or EMACS. I consider it a privilege and I'm lucky to understand and know it.

Perl6 is available now and it has a whole lot of features along with a VM (just learnt there is also JVM for it). Unfortunately I have not the time to really venture into it yet. Busy with so much other technologies and work out there