My First Post.
Hi, I am a Storage Administrator. I was on a lookout for a scripting language that would help me automate some of the work that I do. Started learning Perl, but it was ( and still is) a sort of intermittent process. Work load has a tendency to mount when you least expect and I end up not learning/writing Perl for days together.
Signed up here to write about Perl. I am still in the learning phase, yet, I'll post whatever small scripts I write.
It saddens me when, without any valid research, some people, even a few of my colleagues bemoan the state of Perl. They think that Perl is stagnant, that its not "alive and growing" any more..In my own small ways, I am trying to change that perception. If I can get a few of my colleagues and friends to change their opinion, it would be fine by me :)
My main intention of posting my scripts on PerlMonks and here is that some fellow storage admin comes here while browsing for some script to automate the same tasks that I have already automated, finds my scripts useful and uses them.
That's all for now.
P.S. -> Well, I was trying to write this blog on IE 9, but for some reason this content page would not let me type in. So I tried Chrome and it works fine :)
Welcome! I am always happy to see new faces and I hope that your learning process goes well.
I am annoyed when people moan about Perl, too. The best way to change that perception is to use it, and to make shiny new things using it. Then show it off to friends and coworkers.
You have said that you plan on posting your useful scripts up here. That sounds like a great idea, but don't stop there. It would be even better if you created your own modules with that functionality and put those on CPAN. Then your scripts would be one-liners, with all the power encapsulated in the modules. You are new to all of this, and that is quite aways off, but it would be good to keep that as a distant goal for now.
Again, welcome!
Hi David,
Thank you very much for your encouraging words.
I am not sure if I will be able to achieve the kind of skill level of developing a module and stuff on those lines, but may be with time I would reach that level. I am already 36, and not sure how old I will be before I write a module. Wish I had started with Perl 10 years earlier...then there could be some hope :) Besides, I have heard that most of the Perl Modules are written in C, and that kind of skill level I don't think is possible if I start at this age.
I am just an average guy trying to learn Perl. And yeah, I have tried other scripting languages, but in my opinion, there's nothing in those languages that Perl cannot do. Besides, it fits my brain better.
Thank you once again.
Hi
I was in my 30s I guess when I started with Perl, and now have a few modules on CPAN, so there's plenty of time for you.
Getting started: I suggest downloading a few modules and looking at the source code. When you find a style you like, just edit the code to create a sample module for yourself.
There are various modules which generate a skeleton for a new module, but they don't appeal to me.
Also, there are websites specifically dedicated to learning Perl. Just don't do random web searches - you'll get hits to ancient code teaching you bad habits :-((.
Also, it is absolutely false that most Perl modules are written in C. Huge numbers are pure Perl (PP). Some are shipped with PP and C versions within one package.
You could easily have a 30 year career without writing C, but of course the joke is that certain Perl constructs are copied from, if not identical to, their C equivalents.
Cheers
Ron
Don't worry, writing a module is much easier than you think. And most modules on CPAN are written in pure Perl, not in C.
To get you started, just look at how some modules you use are written. You use
HTTP::Tiny
? Just look at its code withperldoc -m HTTP::Tiny
.Hi Olivier and Ron,
Thank you very much for your encouraging words.
Ron and Olivier, your humbleness is amazing. That's not "a few" modules sire, those are a LOT of modules that you have written. Looks like I am the only one here who hasn't written any modules. :D
Its an honour to get a comment from such accomplished Perl Developers.