Perl is designed to give you several ways to do anything, so consider picking the most readable one.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Perl offers many ways to achieve a task; choose the most readable one.
- In plain terms
- Pick the clearest solution among many.
- What can you take from it?
- Prioritize readability over cleverness.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you balance readability with performance?
- When is a less readable trick justified?
Another view
The most readable option may not be the most performant.
More from Larry Wall
Okay, that's definitely enough hype.
Permalink to quote #271 Remember though that THERE IS NO GENERAL RULE FOR CONVERTING A LIST INTO A SCALAR.
Permalink to quote #273 In general, they do what you want, unless you want consistency.
Permalink to quote #270
Related quotes
Although the Perl Slogan is There's More Than One Way to Do It, I hesitate to make 10 ways to do something. :-)
Larry WallLarry Wall quote #1 And don't tell me there isn't one bit of difference between null and space, because that's exactly how much difference there is. :-)
Larry WallLarry Wall quote #2