Would like Perl to be Taught as the AP Subset?
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Ask Larry Wall
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· Score: 1
Larry,
I am sitting in what should have been my favorite class: Computer Science AP 1. Supposedly I would learn all the fundamentals to the exciting world of programming. Yet we're 'learning' C++;
Way back when my parents finally got the internet, I began my interest with computers. I downloaded AOLPress (one of the first WYSIWYG editors) and taught myself HTML. But that got boring and I moved to JavaScript, until I realized nothing useful could come from a bunch of cookies and changed forms. That's when I stumbled onto Perl. I bought the Camel Book and have read it three times through, alongside the Cookbook, and CGI Programming. I absolutely love Perl and all the amazing problems I can solve (or die trying!). Nevermind I only used babyPerl (linear programming) back then; it was more than enough for many school assignments. And for the past four+ years I have added on, spending a couple hours every week fixing some dusty corner of the world. This past year, even, I tied the DBD::mysql library with the National Honor Society roster to easily and effectively manage everyone's service requirements. Perl saved me hours of tedious work
But now I'm listening to a humdrum lecture about string concatenation. It's been two weeks and already I miss forgiving $variables and print. This whole iostream.h (which I think is deprecated) cout << endl nonsense is really getting to me. What's wrong with \n anyways? It's not like C++ even is aware Unicode exists, much less variable interpolation.
So Mr. Wall, would you support the College Board in adapting Perl as the subset language in order to teach advanced computer science? Would you advocate it? I hear next year they're shifting to Java (amist everyone's grunting).
From a financial standpoint (which many districts much consider), Perl is far less expensive than proprietary compilers like Borland here. I personally think the open-natured and well-supported community, that has nothing but nurtured and encouraged me with this passion, would provide a much more enriching experience. After all, in my five years of stupid mistakes, I have yet to crash my computer with Perl when it took me two days to figure out
while(int x=x++)
is a no-no in C++. Granted C++ is a lower-level language that can do more exacting tasks, but if the class only gets to recursive functions at winter break, how far do you think we'll actually delve?
PS The apocalypses hardly seem damning, and I actually can't wait to use the new regrex.
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Way back when my parents finally got the internet, I began my interest with computers. I downloaded AOLPress (one of the first WYSIWYG editors) and taught myself HTML. But that got boring and I moved to JavaScript, until I realized nothing useful could come from a bunch of cookies and changed forms. That's when I stumbled onto Perl. I bought the Camel Book and have read it three times through, alongside the Cookbook, and CGI Programming. I absolutely love Perl and all the amazing problems I can solve (or die trying!). Nevermind I only used babyPerl (linear programming) back then; it was more than enough for many school assignments. And for the past four+ years I have added on, spending a couple hours every week fixing some dusty corner of the world. This past year, even, I tied the DBD::mysql library with the National Honor Society roster to easily and effectively manage everyone's service requirements. Perl saved me hours of tedious work
But now I'm listening to a humdrum lecture about string concatenation. It's been two weeks and already I miss forgiving $variables and print. This whole iostream.h (which I think is deprecated) cout << endl nonsense is really getting to me. What's wrong with \n anyways? It's not like C++ even is aware Unicode exists, much less variable interpolation.
So Mr. Wall, would you support the College Board in adapting Perl as the subset language in order to teach advanced computer science? Would you advocate it? I hear next year they're shifting to Java (amist everyone's grunting).
From a financial standpoint (which many districts much consider), Perl is far less expensive than proprietary compilers like Borland here. I personally think the open-natured and well-supported community, that has nothing but nurtured and encouraged me with this passion, would provide a much more enriching experience. After all, in my five years of stupid mistakes, I have yet to crash my computer with Perl when it took me two days to figure out is a no-no in C++. Granted C++ is a lower-level language that can do more exacting tasks, but if the class only gets to recursive functions at winter break, how far do you think we'll actually delve?
PS The apocalypses hardly seem damning, and I actually can't wait to use the new regrex.