Admission is the first step in recovery
Sorry about the gap between posts. I’ve been super busy. I know, that’s not a good excuse. I’ll try to do better the future. Really, I will. I’ll tell you what though, I’m glad that we’ve made up.
Hugandkiss.
A few weeks ago I needed a data set to test with. A really big one. Thousands and thousands of files worth of big one. And all those files needed to have lots of revisions. In the end we’re talking about millions of database rows.
So I wrote a little script to make a bunch of random changes to an old source tree. The rub is I wrote the script the Perl and attached it to the defect.
Not ten minutes later Jeff walks in, points toward the door and says, “Get out.” Not quite a text book intervention but he tried his best and his heart was in the right place. I knew as I was writing it I didn’t want to use Perl because it drives me crazy as a language, but it was familiar and easy. Never mind that a month from now I’ll have better luck translating sanskrit than reading what I wrote. I even said so in the bug report:
“I wrote a quick Perl script (I know, no one is more sad about it than I am) to edit each checked out file.”
It’s been about fifteen years since I was first introduced to Perl and I think that’s about all any one person needs. I need a change.
The problem now is what do I use? Python? Ruby? Squirrely academic language du jour? I know the only way I’ll change permanently is to pick a new one and use it whenever I can on the little junk development tasks.
So I put it to you the reader to decide. The only requirements are that it has to run on Mac OS X, is reasonably flexible and is easy to maintain. (Bonus points if it can run on Windows as well.) Whatever has the most votes by Thanksgiving is the one I’ll use. I’ll even give periodic updates on my progress, kind of like my own twelve step Perl detoxification program. See, I feel better already.
