require "cam.pm" ;

{ $perl -> what ; }

Perl (www.perl.com) is the computer language that binds us all together. It is written by Larry Wall (originally of patch(1) fame, and was originally intended as a scripting language to replace sed, awk, sh and C, and it has inherited constructs from all of these, as well as some of its own extra bits and pieces.

Despite being regarded, rather dismissively, as a scripting language, perl is actually a proper programming language, with a separate compile and run stage. This has been its strength, and has helped its success, as it is very versatile to use as just a scripting language, and it is also possible to write large projects where code is long-lived, and fast.

The other thing Perl has done for programmers is to create the CPAN or Comprehensive Perl Archive Network. This has allowed developers to upload their code classes and libraries for people to use and improve. This means a great deal of code reuse is possible. Of course this has its downside, which is that the quality of the code on the CPAN varies wildly. There is, though, in the Perl world, a plan to combat even this, by the CPANTS (CPAN Testing Service), led by Michael G Schwern. This is helpful for Perl in general.