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About this quote

What does it mean?
A new feature may be an accident, but treat it as intentional and keep it private.
In plain terms
If a feature appears accidental, act as if it were planned and don't reveal it.
What can you take from it?
Maintain secrecy about unintended features.

Where it applies

  • product development
  • open-source contributions

Putting it to work

  • document as official
  • limit disclosure

Questions to consider

  • When should I hide an accidental feature?
  • What are the risks of revealing it?

Another view

Keeping secrets can hinder community collaboration.

More from Larry Wall

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  2. It's there as a sop to former Ada programmers. :-)

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  3. If I allowed 'next $label' then I'd also have to allow 'goto $label', and I don't think you really want that... :-)

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