predix

I had not been expecting to attend YAPC::EU this year. In fact, I have never been to YAPC anywhere. But about a month ago, the announcement in Perl Weekly caught my eye. Skimming through the program of talks, I became more intrigued. The location in Granada also looked enticing.

The main obstacle was that I live on the southern tip of Africa. The journey would be long, arduous and expensive. Nevertheless, plans were drawn up, family and colleagues consulted, and funding secured. This was going to happen.

Twenty four hours after setting out from Cape Town, I arrived in Granada. Over the next five days I got various doses of Perl education, folklore, insights, whizz-bang craziness, and inspiration. I was also struck by the diversity and camaraderie of the Perl community, and the cultural richness of Granada.

But perhaps the most uplifting take-away for me was the realisation that Perl is a state of mind, an approach to problem solving, more than it is a particular language, and that this transcendent aspect will probably be as present in Perl 6 as it was in all the previous Perls. As I prepare for the long journey home with my bag of virtual goodies, it is this one that I treasure most.