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About this quote

What does it mean?
Perl programming is described as an empirical science, meaning it relies on observation and experimentation.
In plain terms
Perl is learned by testing and observing.
What can you take from it?
Experiment to discover what works.

Where it applies

  • learning Perl
  • debugging scripts

Putting it to work

  • run small tests
  • iterate quickly

Questions to consider

  • What experiments help you learn Perl?
  • When should you rely on theory?

Another view

Empirical approach may miss theoretical best practices.

More from Larry Wall

  1. Let us be charitable, and call it a misleading feature :-)

    Permalink to quote #18
  2. Randal said it would be tough to do in sed. He didn't say he didn't understand sed. Randal understands sed quite well. Which is why he uses Perl. :-)

    Permalink to quote #20
  3. Let's say the docs present a simplified view of reality... :-)

    Permalink to quote #17

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