Perl's Syntactic Legacy

This is a talk I gave at YAPC::NA 2015 in Salt Lake City (http://www.yapcna.org/yn2015/talk/6085). The video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJC725e8ysM

Transcript

1. Perl's
   Syntactic
   Legacy
   Using the future to improve the past
   

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6. #eatfirst
   

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9. $785.00!!!!
   

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11. #dammitcancer
    

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12. Perl's
    Syntactic
    Legacy
    Using the future to improve the past
    

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13. Legacy
    /ˈlɛɡəsɪ/
    
    !
    adjective
    !
    of or relating to old or outdated computer
    hardware, software, or data that, while
    still functional, does not work well with
    up-to-date systems.
    

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14. /ˈlɛɡəsɪ/
    
    !
    noun
    !
    something handed down or received
    from an ancestor or predecessor
    Legacy
    

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15. /ˈlɛɡəsɪ/
    
    !
    noun
    !
    something handed down or received
    from an ancestor or predecessor
    Legacy
    descendant or successor
    

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16. This talk is about
    

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17. This talk is about
    ‣ the evolution of a design
    

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18. This talk is about
    ‣ the evolution of a design
    ‣ the slow breakdown of
    my own stubbornness
    

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19. Learning
    

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20. Learning
    The act of present $you realizing
    how stupid past $you was being
    

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21. meta(data)
    

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22. STEVAN
    stevan@cpan.org
    stevan
    @stevanlittle
    cpan:
    email:
    github:
    twitter:
    

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29. mop?
    

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30. Classes,
    Methods,
    Attributes &
    Instances
    

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31. ... an abstraction of a
    system of abstractions
    that is used to build
    abstractions.
    

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32. ... an abstraction of a
    system of abstractions
    that is used to build
    abstractions.
    

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33. ... an abstraction of a
    system of abstractions
    that is used to build
    abstractions.
    

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34. ... an abstraction of a
    system of abstractions
    that is used to build
    abstractions.
    

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35. *{$pkg . '::foo'} = \&bar;
    

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36. p5-mop
    

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37. Goals
    

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38. Goals
    1. class attributes (slots)
    

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39. Goals
    1. class attributes (slots)
    2. class/method vs. package/sub
    

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40. Goals
    1. class attributes (slots)
    2. class/method vs. package/sub
    3. role composition
    

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41. Goals
    1. class attributes (slots)
    2. class/method vs. package/sub
    3. role composition
    4. introspection API
    

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42. Goals
    1. class attributes (slots)
    2. class/method vs. package/sub
    3. role composition
    4. introspection API
    5. improve OO syntax
    

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43. package Point;
    !
    sub new {
    my $class = shift;
    bless { x => 0, y => 0 }, $class;
    }
    !
    sub clear {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{x} = 0;
    $self->{y} = 0;
    }
    

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44. class Point {
    !
    has $x = 0;
    has $y = 0;
    !
    method clear {
    ($x, $y) = (0, 0);
    }
    }
    

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45. package Point;
    !
    sub new {
    my $class = shift;
    bless { x => 0, y => 0 }, $class;
    }
    !
    sub clear {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{x} = 0;
    $self->{y} = 0;
    }
    

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46. class Point {
    !
    has $x = 0;
    has $y = 0;
    !
    method clear {
    ($x, $y) = (0, 0);
    }
    }
    

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47. package Point;
    !
    sub new {
    my $class = shift;
    bless { x => 0, y => 0 }, $class;
    }
    !
    sub clear {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{x} = 0;
    $self->{y} = 0;
    }
    

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48. package Point;
    !
    sub new :method {
    my $class = shift;
    bless { x => 0, y => 0 }, $class;
    }
    !
    sub clear :method {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{x} = 0;
    $self->{y} = 0;
    }
    

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49. class Point {
    !
    has $x = 0;
    has $y = 0;
    !
    method clear {
    ($x, $y) = (0, 0);
    }
    }
    

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50. package Point;
    !
    sub new {
    my $class = shift;
    bless { x => 0, y => 0 }, $class;
    }
    !
    sub clear {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{x} = 0;
    $self->{y} = 0;
    }
    

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51. package Point;
    !
    sub new {
    my $class = shift;
    bless { x => 0, y => 0 }, $class;
    }
    !
    sub clear {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{x} = 0;
    $self->{y} = 0;
    }
    

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52. class Point {
    !
    has $x = 0;
    has $y = 0;
    !
    method clear {
    ($x, $y) = (0, 0);
    }
    }
    

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53. class Point {
    !
    has $x = 0;
    has $y = 0;
    !
    method clear {
    ($x, $y) = (0, 0);
    }
    }
    

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54. package Point;
    !
    sub new {
    my $class = shift;
    bless { x => 0, y => 0 }, $class;
    }
    !
    sub clear {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{x} = 0;
    $self->{y} = 0;
    }
    

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55. class Point {
    !
    has $x = 0;
    has $y = 0;
    !
    method clear {
    ($x, $y) = (0, 0);
    }
    }
    

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56. Moose
    

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57. Perl 5 Core
    Class::MOP
    Moose
    

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58. Perl 5 Core
    Class::MOP
    Moose
    

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59. p5-mop
    

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60. Perl 5 Core
    mop.pm
    

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61. Perl 5 Core
    mop.pm
    

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66. Throw the first one away!
    

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67. PadWalker.pm
    

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68. PadWalker.pm
    

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70. Who is going to maintain this?!!!?!?!
    

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71. moe
    

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73. -Ofun
    

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74. ಠ_ಠ
    

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75. My Moe Wishlist
    • A more consistent syntax and sane grammar
    
    • with a real AST
    
    • and better tooling support
    
    • A less insane runtime
    
    • proper MOP (everything is an object)
    
    • slimmer core
    
    • easy (non-XS) extension mechanism
    
    • On a modern VM platform
    
    • JVM / CLR / LLVM / V8
    
    • cross language sharing
    

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76. CPAN
    

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84. p5-mop-redux
    

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85. Perl 5 Core
    mop.pm
    

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86. Perl 5 Core
    mop.pm
    

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87. package Foo;
    use strict;
    use warnings;
    !
    use Variable::Magic qw[ wizard cast ];
    use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw[ fieldhash ];
    !
    fieldhash my %foo;
    !
    my $wiz = wizard(
    data => sub { $_[1] },
    set => sub { $_[1]->[0]->{ $_[1]->[1] } = $_[0] },
    );
    !
    sub foo {
    my $self = shift;
    my $foo = $foo{$self};
    cast $foo, $wiz, [ \%foo, $self ];
    !
    $foo = shift if @_;
    $foo;
    }
    

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88. package Foo;
    use strict;
    use warnings;
    !
    use Variable::Magic qw[ wizard cast ];
    use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw[ fieldhash ];
    !
    fieldhash my %foo;
    !
    my $wiz = wizard(
    data => sub { $_[1] },
    set => sub { $_[1]->[0]->{ $_[1]->[1] } = $_[0] },
    );
    !
    sub foo {
    my $self = shift;
    my $foo = $foo{$self};
    cast $foo, $wiz, [ \%foo, $self ];
    !
    $foo = shift if @_;
    $foo;
    }
    

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89. package Foo;
    use strict;
    use warnings;
    !
    use Variable::Magic qw[ wizard cast ];
    use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw[ fieldhash ];
    !
    fieldhash my %foo;
    !
    my $wiz = wizard(
    data => sub { $_[1] },
    set => sub { $_[1]->[0]->{ $_[1]->[1] } = $_[0] },
    );
    !
    sub foo {
    my $self = shift;
    my $foo = $foo{$self};
    cast $foo, $wiz, [ \%foo, $self ];
    !
    $foo = shift if @_;
    $foo;
    }
    

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90. package Foo;
    use strict;
    use warnings;
    !
    use Variable::Magic qw[ wizard cast ];
    use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw[ fieldhash ];
    !
    fieldhash my %foo;
    !
    my $wiz = wizard(
    data => sub { $_[1] },
    set => sub { $_[1]->[0]->{ $_[1]->[1] } = $_[0] },
    );
    !
    sub foo {
    my $self = shift;
    my $foo = $foo{$self};
    cast $foo, $wiz, [ \%foo, $self ];
    !
    $foo = shift if @_;
    $foo;
    }
    

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91. package Foo;
    use strict;
    use warnings;
    !
    use Variable::Magic qw[ wizard cast ];
    use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw[ fieldhash ];
    !
    fieldhash my %foo;
    !
    my $wiz = wizard(
    data => sub { $_[1] },
    set => sub { $_[1]->[0]->{ $_[1]->[1] } = $_[0] },
    );
    !
    sub foo {
    my $self = shift;
    my $foo = $foo{$self};
    cast $foo, $wiz, [ \%foo, $self ];
    !
    $foo = shift if @_;
    $foo;
    }
    

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92. package Foo;
    use strict;
    use warnings;
    !
    use Variable::Magic qw[ wizard cast ];
    use Hash::Util::FieldHash qw[ fieldhash ];
    !
    fieldhash my %foo;
    !
    my $wiz = wizard(
    data => sub { $_[1] },
    set => sub { $_[1]->[0]->{ $_[1]->[1] } = $_[0] },
    );
    !
    sub foo {
    my $self = shift;
    my $foo = $foo{$self};
    cast $foo, $wiz, [ \%foo, $self ];
    !
    $foo = shift if @_;
    $foo;
    }
    

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94. package Foo;
    use strict;
    use warnings;
    !
    has ‘foo’;
    !
    method foo {
    $foo = shift if @_;
    $foo;
    }
    

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95. Devel::(every day i’m segfaultin)::Declare
    

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97. Everything should be as
    simple as it can be, but
    not simpler.
    – Albert Einstein
    

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98. It can scarcely be denied that the
    supreme goal of all theory is to
    make the irreducible basic elements
    as simple and as few as possible
    without having to surrender the
    adequate representation of a single
    datum of experience.
    

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100. • Plack
     

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101. • Plack
     • HTTP::Headers::ActionPack
     

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102. • Plack
     • HTTP::Headers::ActionPack
     • Promises
     

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103. • Plack
     • HTTP::Headers::ActionPack
     • Promises
     • Bread::Board
     

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104. • Plack
     • HTTP::Headers::ActionPack
     • Promises
     • Bread::Board
     • Reply
     

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105. • Plack
     • HTTP::Headers::ActionPack
     • Promises
     • Bread::Board
     • Reply
     • Forward::Routes
     

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106. • Plack
     • HTTP::Headers::ActionPack
     • Promises
     • Bread::Board
     • Reply
     • Forward::Routes
     • Action::Retry
     

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107. • Plack
     • HTTP::Headers::ActionPack
     • Promises
     • Bread::Board
     • Reply
     • Forward::Routes
     • Action::Retry
     • Hashids
     

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108. • Plack
     • HTTP::Headers::ActionPack
     • Promises
     • Bread::Board
     • Reply
     • Forward::Routes
     • Action::Retry
     • Hashids
     • Net::IPAddress::Util
     

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110. 200 OK
     

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111. Perl 5 Core
     mop.pm
     

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112. Perl 5 Core
     mop.pm
     

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113. Perl 5 Core
     mop.pm
     

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114. Perl 5 Core
     mop.pm
     

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115. Perl 5 Core
     mop.pm
     XS
     

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117. p5-mop-XS
     

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120. Perl 5 Core
     

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121. mop.xs
     Perl
     5
     Core
     

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122. p5-mop-again-seriously-wtf
     

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125. sub foo; # required method
     

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126. $ perl -MDevel::Peek -e 'sub foo; Dump \&foo;'
     SV = IV(0x7fa3b3003428) at 0x7fa3b3003438
     REFCNT = 1
     FLAGS = (TEMP,ROK)
     RV = 0x7fa3b3028978
     SV = PVCV(0x7fa3b30271b8) at 0x7fa3b3028978
     REFCNT = 2
     FLAGS = ()
     COMP_STASH = 0x7fa3b30032b8 "main"
     ROOT = 0x0
     GVGV::GV = 0x7fa3b3028960 "main" :: "foo"
     FILE = "-e"
     DEPTH = 0
     FLAGS = 0x0
     OUTSIDE_SEQ = 0
     PADLIST = 0x0
     OUTSIDE = 0x0 (null)
     

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127. # marking sub as method
     sub foo :method { … }
     

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128. perl -MDevel::Peek -e 'sub foo :method { 1 } Dump \&foo;'
     SV = IV(0x7fec82003428) at 0x7fec82003438
     REFCNT = 1
     FLAGS = (TEMP,ROK)
     RV = 0x7fec82029318
     SV = PVCV(0x7fec82027bb8) at 0x7fec82029318
     REFCNT = 2
     FLAGS = (METHOD)
     COMP_STASH = 0x7fec820032b8 "main"
     START = 0x7fec81c0dae8 ===> 1
     ROOT = 0x7fec81c0da60
     GVGV::GV = 0x7fec82029348 "main" :: "foo"
     FILE = "-e"
     DEPTH = 0
     FLAGS = 0x1
     OUTSIDE_SEQ = 95
     PADLIST = 0x7fec81c0cac0
     PADNAME = 0x7fec82029378(0x7fec81c0cf90)
     PAD = 0x7fec820293c0(0x7fec81c051e0)
     OUTSIDE = 0x7fec82003648 (MAIN)
     

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129. # signatures
     sub foo ($self) { … }
     

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130. + use v5.20;
     + use experimental ‘signatures’
     +
     - SV*
     - parse_signature (code, …)
     - # A WHOLE LOAD OF CRAZY XS
     - # PARSING CODE THAT MADE YOUR
     - # EYES BLEED AND YOUR HEART
     - # SINK IN DEEP DESPAIR
     - # *sigh*
     

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131. sub foo;
     !
     sub bar :method { … }
     !
     sub baz ($gorch) { … }
     

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132. package Foo;
     use v5.20;
     use warnings;
     !
     our @DOES = (‘BarRole’);
     !
     1;
     

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133. package Foo;
     use v5.20;
     use warnings;
     !
     our %HAS = (
     bar => sub { “BAR” },
     baz => sub { “BAZ” },
     );
     !
     1;
     

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134. our @DOES = (‘BarRole’);
     !
     our %HAS = (
     bar => sub { “BAR” },
     baz => sub { “BAZ” },
     );
     

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135. #include “mop.h”
     

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136. p5-mop
     

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137. Conclusion
     

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138. Respect
     the
     Legacy!
     

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139. Legacy is the
     remnants of solved
     problems.
     

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140. Many of the OO conventions
     that we take for granted are
     largely inherited from Java,
     !
     … which barely existed
     when Larry designed the
     OO features of Perl 5.
     

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141. Object Orientation in
     Ada is a Design Pattern
     

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142. What makes a good
     
     “Perl” programmer?
     • Laziness
     
     • Impatience
     
     • Hubris
     

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143. What makes a good
     
     “perl” programmer?
     • Do the hard work
     
     • Patience
     
     • Humility
     

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144. The End
     (or is it…)
     

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