Short- and long-term visions

From: Sawyer X

Date: August 9, 2019 13:52

Subject: Short- and long-term visions

Message ID: fa7c81c1-9e84-8f0e-f9a4-15ac066bb179@gmail.com

August 9, 2019 13:52Short- and long-term visions

Hi everyone, I gave a keynote at the North American and European Perl conferences where I laid out some ideas that I want to share with you. I spent time thinking of the usage of the language in the world and the causes of its decline. It would be a very long email if I were to write it all so I will keep this relatively short. I think the main issues we are dealing with are: Syntax, capabilities, tooling, documentation, and available libraries. To me, these are the areas we should be focusing on when planning a vision for the language. These topics are what I intend to focus on during the upcoming Perl 5 Core Hackathon. Additionally, I am also looking into some other problems we have. Primarily, the lack of definition for a Core Developer of the language[1] and the lack of process for charting a language direction and making decisions are problems I see us facing. I want to create a clear definition of the core development team for Perl 5. Additionally, I want to introduce the concept of a steering committee, which would work on deciding a direction and prioritization for topics. The latter responsibility currently falls on me. While I intend to stay a core part of this, I think the job would be done better with additional stakeholders and knowledgeable people on board. I just wanted to provide an update of what I'm working on at the moment. I will share more once I gain traction on these topics. If you are attending the core hackathon this year, we will also be dealing with these topics. Thanks, Sawyer. [1] This causes multiple problems, mainly in responsibility and decision making.

Short- and long-term visions by Sawyer X



