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On the Perl Programming Language

(This post was made in collaboration with KCU Network of Mathematics.)

Communication is key. For those who have worked in customer service would know about this first hand because customers walking into the venue aren't going to know where things are, such as the restroom. As small as that job is, it's the one that defines what and who someone is as a person; This goes for both the customer and the employee themselves. It's a great display for everyone, including the person themselves, who goes above and beyond to help and/or empathize with the customer(s) and what they're looking for. You can tell a lot about a person and who they are with this job.

All this is a given, so why am I talking about it? This all stemmed from a response I got from tech support in regards to a programming language I've been wanting to learn and be proficient at, proving once and for all about the importance of communication—especially when it is and when it's not appropriate to make a comment/opinion, despite not having asked for it.

My stack of Perl programming books! I love Perl!

I was doing some tests here on our website, and despite its criticisms and its aging popularity, I wanted to run some scripts using the Perl programming language. Since I have some experience with the C and C++ programming languages, I thought Perl came pretty close, syntactically speaking. Not minding the naysayers and what they've all said about it, I've bought some introductory books and wrote some small and simple scripts, all which are not posted nor shown on this website as of yet (still learning). It's a neat language, though because I was unfamiliar with the setup, especially when it came to frameworks, I ran into some trouble. After numerous troubleshooting and trying to fix the problem(s) myself, I contacted tech support for help. Along with a tip, he added this:

"If you want my opinion, I think Perl is a big-step backward. Build what you're comfortable in, but Perl is less common these days."
— Tech support representative

I know Perl is less common and not widely used compared to Python and Ruby. Being an old-soul, I love dabbling with old tech as it's the one source that acts as a "time machine," giving me in-sights of how things were and how things worked in the olden days (I'm a millennial born in the late eighties). What if I wanted to use Perl for my own learning and development? Perl may not be the first choice when diving into programming, especially given its diminishing usage, but why do companies like Amazon and Booking.com still use it? Why is there an active community maintaining it, let alone books being published on it?

Personally, I've had customer service experience for almost six (6) years. Of all those years, not once, and I mean NOT ONCE did I make a comment, opinion nor any judgement whatsoever about the thing(s) customers decided to purchase. Why? Their money, their choice, right? If a customer wanted my opinion on an item, I'd have them ask me; I don't make any comments nor opinion as to what they say, do, purchase or anything that may interfere with their shopping, how their day is going and/or what they're going through personally. Besides, why should I? Whatever the customer wants to buy is none of my business, as I'm there to accommodate and help if need be.

It's comments like this that ruin and spoil a person's day. I never got to learn Perl while officially teaching myself programming since 2009, and while repositories and packages aren't getting the draw that many other languages are in comparison, especially if something ends up not working, doesn't mean I should abandon it. Making the choice to learn Perl is my business that requires no explanation on my part, in addition to the other languages I plan to learn, like COBOL, Pascal and Fortran to name a few. Heck, because Perl resembles that of the C, C++, and the awk programming languages makes this a treat since it'll make me comfortable with the said languages if my personal projects call for it. I'm aware that fixes for errors won't be readily available, but isn't that part of the learning process? If something breaks, that's my problem; That's part of my own learning and growth.

Now, planning to jump off a cliff seeing if landing on your feet is physically possible? I can see why someone would want to intervene, chiming what they think about it and why it's not suggested. However, this isn't some possible life-threatening decision I'm making, as this is only a choice on what programming language I want to learn, test, and potentially be good at. Programming languages are just tools, yet many people make snarky comments and illogical criticisms about it. Had these tools not been created, where would we be? Would you still be programming? That's the problem with people nowadays: They're not thankful for what we have, nor are they appreciative of the those who went out of their way to make something that help us advance forward.

While people are welcome to talk and say what they want, what's the reason for hating a tool that helps get things done? Why complain about something that's available and free? You don't have to like Perl, but are you tell me it's okay to hate on people who do and want to learn it? If Perl was officially "dead," companies wouldn't be using it. Even if it's just one script, doing the easiest task that can be done with less than 5 lines of code using Python, such companies have their reason(s) that don't need explaining. That's another thing: Why do we have to explain everything we do/like? Are we at that point where people have a problem with what others are doing? I'm simply running tests and trying out what I've learned so far, and yeah, I ran into some trouble and needed some help. I DID NOT need a comment nor opinion about what I'm doing and testing out (he didn't need to add his thoughts in the email chain, as I never asked).

All this is like saying, "I think playing the Super Nintendo/Sega Genesis is a step backward. Play whatever video game console you want, but the Super Nintendo/Sega Genesis are less common these days [compared to the Nintendo Switch]." As a retro video gamer myself, do you know how many conventions dedicated to old computers and older video games are held annually around the world? Do you know how many small video game companies still develop and create games for the Nintendo Game Boy and the Atari Lynx and are currently in business? Why are there YouTube videos still being made in 2024 about how to repair and upgrade video game consoles to be compatible with today's modern technologies? Let's keep going: Why purchase, and collect, physical media when streaming and digital formats are readily available? Just because something is "old school," doesn't mean they have little to no value, let alone being a "step backward." Like I said, those very people don't need to explain: If it makes you happy, enjoy it.

If you think about it, nearly every job we do is rooted in customer service. Here's an example: If you're an entertainer on YouTube, people's time is money, and if you're hoping we would watch your video that's twenty minutes long, all those minutes better be worth our time. Otherwise, the time and duration spent watching your video won't guarantee you income (advertising revenue), no matter how many subscribers nor video views you have. You want to make money with what you do, either for yourself or for a company you work for? Whatever job you do, customer service is key: To get us consumers to "consume" your product(s) or service(s), make it worth our time and money, going above and beyond what you're capable of doing. If us customers don't think it's worth our time and money, or if the service is lacking, is poor and/or is terrible, we stop consuming it, plain and simple. (Yes, this goes the same for sports leagues: The team and/or the athletes are the products, and their job is to draw customers, or fans, to consume their products. If there's no competitive or entertainment value in their games, then there isn't a reason to consume it.)

In terms of popularity, using Reddit as a unit of measurement, the Perl subreddit is barely itching toward 20,000 members; For comparison, the Python subreddit has 1.3 million members. Again, I'm aware Perl is less common but that doesn't mean I "can't" learn it and/or use it. The fact that dumbphones, CRT monitors/TVs and typewriters are getting popular again is twisting up sales and profits among the products of today. I love technology, always and forever, but I can admit that there are things that don't necessarily need an advancement and are fine with what we have and where we are ("planned obselescence" is out of the question). Makes you wonder why Apple® has scaled down in their iPhone releases. I personally have nothing against both the Python and Ruby programming languages as I've spent time learning them myself, but what if I preferred something that helped separate me from the populace? That's been my life philosophy: Not being one with the crowd—to do things that many people can't nor don't want to do, and doing so if and only if it brings me joy having learned something from it. Otherwise, I wouldn't pursue it. Nevertheless, it's like people are afraid of being themselves and doing their own explorations; It's like they need to be "told" what to do and what to like as a means of feeling that they belong. Kind of makes you wonder, huh?

Some of you may contact me saying "I'm not trolling, but dude, there's really no reason to learn Perl man, seriously," then introduce me to an employee from the companies that still use Perl and ask them why they're using it. Does everyone need a reason why people do what they want? What about you: Do you have any confidence, curiosity or passion in the things you do? If questions like these make you uncomfortable, then what you're doing isn't something you find joy in; The reason is you're doing it because other people are doing the same thing, and you feel "pressured" to do despite giving you a sense of belonging. Yet in this case, you're insecure and jeopardizing what you're doing, like what programming language to learn because someone else, like me, decides to learn and pursue something you're not familiar with—something that's less common. It reminds me of my teen years, being peer pressured into smoking because everyone is doing so, then the moment I would outright refuse, these "friends" would get mad. Yeah, that's where we are: Peer pressuring others into doing what everyone likes, and belittle them if they don't. I'm only talking about the choice I've made with what programming language to learn in contrast with customer service, yet see how distant and divided we've become?

Speaking of programming, isn't the mark of a good programmer the ability to write and read code? That's another problem today: Reading. Attention spans have gotten so short that many people aren't able to sit and read even 100 lines of code, let alone Perl code, and this blog post. No wonder languages like Python are popular because you can run scripts using a few lines with a few commands, thus having the reputation for being the "best" language currently. Now I understand since such short attention spans can't read nor comprehend code written in Perl, C, C++, this blog entry word for word, or even a book. If this is true, then it's a YOU problem, and not the ones learning "old technologies." LEARN TO READ.

I went as far as to ask Microsoft Copilot about this ordeal. Check it out:

Microsoft Copilot's response to my customer service experience with a tech support representative. How supportive!

What a great response from Copilot. I must say that the day technology turns around and sees value in Perl again should be a holiday. I can imagine why the hiring of Perl programmers struggle getting filled as there's not enough of them, despite the unwarranted hate towards it (hello, Java and COBOL programmers). However, we figured out why: Shortened attention spans, who are unable to read code in Perl, Java or in any language thereof, making the conclusion that "too much reading" makes the language a *bad* choice to learn and program in.

As someone who used to do video production, this also reminds me of the attitudes RED camera owners have, mocking those who own and shoot with a Blackmagic or Sony cameras. Yeah, so it's not about the tool(s) anymore but about who's ego is larger. I see, as this proves that some people were never loved nor appreciated as a child, brag about how their videos/films "don't suck," yet get defensive if their livelihoods feel threatened the moment they see someone enjoy and prefer something else. Nothing to see here: Just typical sassy behaviors of the insecure...

If making online videos or podcasts about which text editor to use is socially acceptable, then we shouldn't shame women who plan outings to discuss what nail polish they should get. That's where we are today, where else would we be?

The customer may not always be right, but that doesn't mean you can chime in and suggest something else if they find joy in it and not you. Imagine that: Someone is learning a programming language, and another person has a problem with it.

This is a great time to send my sincere thanks to the following:

• Microsoft Copilot AI for that wonderful and supportive response.

• The 20,000 members on the Perl subreddit, and other Perl programmers around the world of all levels.

Dr Perl for producing Perl tutorial videos on YouTube even to this day.

• Book publishers Apress, SAMS Publishing, Dummies, and O'Reilly and all their authors for releasing books teaching Perl, from beginner to advanced.

• Above all, thank you to Larry Wall for creating this wonderful programming language! Thank you for contributing to the advancement of humanity.

I developed a love for Perl, and if that pisses you off, I'm happy to continue writing with it. Hate me all you like, because at the end of the day, you hate someone who's being themselves.

This is Kris speaking for Food For The Saints.


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