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All the Perl that's Practical to Extract and Report
several minutes ago. We don't need no stinkin' tactical nukes.
(By the way, do you have change for 10 million people?) --lwall
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Comparing Perl to Java is silly (Score:2)
There is simply no way you can compare recruiting Java skilled programmers to recruiting Perl skilled programmers.
Java is hugely mainstream with large numbers of graduates churned out who don't even know how to set classpaths or sort lists.
Perl is not mainstream and has graduates who trained in it at work or at home, it's rarely a first language or formally taught.
Recruiting good staff is hard, the size of the pool doesn't make it any easier.
Recruiting good staff who have specialised a bit (i.e. become good
@JAPH = qw(Hacker Perl Another Just);
print reverse @JAPH;
Re:Comparing Perl to Java is silly (Score:1)
You've totally missed the point. It isn't that it is easier to find Java programmers than Perl programmers, it's that it is *hard* to find *competent* Perl programmers for a wage that the employer can afford. While it is true that Java programmers are churned out of University at a dime a dozen, they remain in the language and fill out a continuum of competency. Your response is "Pay More", but that again ignores the underlying problem (and the realities of the real world).
In a healthy community there would be lots of people across the continuum of competency, and many would fit within the price to competency ratio that the BBC is trying to hire. In an unhealthy community (one that isn't dead, but say has some kind of systematic problem) you find pockets of competency you simply can't fill. Either people will be too experienced and have salary requirements that are way beyond your budget, or you churn through dozens of incompetent programmers.
The fact that there are (several cause I've heard it too) stories out there about how hard it is to find competent programmers means that we have these holes in our community, and that the Perl community is sick.
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Re: (Score:2)
I think there is actually that continuum, but some employers are in denial about what they actually need.
recruiting is hard, recruiting a senior perl programmer for less than would be paid for a senior programmer in C++ or Java and then complaining is what I've seen.
The BBC contract's I've seen fall within IR35 and you'd better paid in a decent junior role. That's nut's.
@JAPH = qw(Hacker Perl Another Just);
print reverse @JAPH;