The Death of Tribal Knowledge

The Perl community needs to make an effort to codify tribal knowledge. Newcomers should be able to get the power the insiders use without being an insider. I will challenge core perl hackers to keep this in mind when considering new features presented on p5p, and I'll challenge newcomers to the community to demand better from the stewards of the language.

Transcript

1. The Death of Tribal Knowledge Mike Doherty @mikedoherty_ca hashbang.ca
2. The Death of Tribal Knowledge Tribal knowledge is all the cool stuff that the people in this room know – but newbies wouldn't, because it is passed down from generation to generation. -Michael Schwern
3. The problem • New features in Perl have to be turned on explicitly
4. The problem • New features in Perl have to be turned on explicitly • BC does matter, but... • There's a balance to be had, and I don't think we're getting it right.
5. The problem • New features in Perl have to be turned on explicitly • BC does matter, but... • There's a balance to be had, and I don't think we're getting it right. • UTF8 is a good example – I've got a hack (utf8::all) which tries to DTRT, but it'd be nice if one day we could just have it work out of the box
6. The problem What we have now is “a sad throwback to David Golden's days of doing C and needing #include <stdio.h> just to print”
7. The solution • I don't know, but I think...
8. The solution • I don't know, but I think... • We need “be v5.16.0-like” semantics.
9. The solution • I don't know, but I think... • We need “be v5.16.0-like” semantics. • We need to add batteries – you shouldn't have to ask for autodie.
10. The solution • I don't know, but I think... • We need “be v5.16.0-like” semantics. • We need to add batteries – you shouldn't have to ask for autodie. • It would be great to assume UTF8 in the future at some point.
11. The solution • I don't know, but I think... • We need “be v5.16.0-like” semantics. • We need to add batteries – you shouldn't have to ask for autodie. • It would be great to assume UTF8 in the future at some point. • Examples abound, but you get the picture
12. The real solution • There are people proposing workable solutions
13. The real solution • There are people proposing workable solutions • Try to avoid shouting them down. Some of them actually can work – you can't say “no” to everything.
14. The real solution • There are people proposing workable solutions • Try to avoid shouting them down. Some of them actually can work – you can't say “no” to everything. • This is as much a social/community problem as a technical one.
15. The real solution • There are people proposing workable solutions • Try to avoid shouting them down. Some of them actually can work – you can't say “no” to everything. • This is as much a social/community problem as a technical one. • You guys are smart, you can figure it out. • So please do!
16. Thanks! Mike Doherty @mikedoherty_ca hashbang.ca/the-death-of-tribal-knowledge