What is the sound of Perl? Is it not the sound of a wall that people have stopped banging their heads against?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The quote asks what Perl sounds like, comparing it to a wall people keep hitting with their heads, implying frustration.
- In plain terms
- Perl is like a wall people keep banging their heads against.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize when a tool becomes a source of frustration.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When does a tool become frustrating?
- How can you mitigate that?
Another view
The metaphor may be too negative for some users.
More from Larry Wall
Unix is like a toll road on which you have to stop every 50 feet to pay another nickel. But hey! You only feel 5 cents poorer each time.
Permalink to quote #56 You have to admit that it's difficult to misplace the Perl sources. :-)
Permalink to quote #58 ...this does not mean that some of us should not want, in a rather dispassionate sort of way, to put a bullet through csh's head.
Permalink to quote #55
Related quotes
My programming language was solder.
Terry PratchettTerry Pratchett quote #2 Perl programming is an *empirical* science!
Larry WallLarry Wall quote #19 Basic anatomy. That has got to be the ongoing frustration: Why can't my fingers do what I want them to do? Not being able to play what I hear in my head - that…
Joe SatrianiJoe Satriani quote #21