[pm-h] The Perl Cookbook project - update

G. Wade Johnson gwadej at anomaly.org
Fri Nov 18 22:19:16 PST 2011


I apologize for going dark for so long after mentioning the idea on the
list. I finally have enough information that I really feel like I have
something to report. Unfortunately, that means a big update. So, I
apologize for that as well.

I have been talking with contacts at O'Reilly and they are quite
enthusiastic about the project. We have been working on a few pieces of
the puzzle from a technical point of view to determine how we could
edit both the code and discussion parts of the recipes collectively.

Since the details have not been fully worked out, they are not yet
willing to open up what we have been playing with to the world at
large. I may be optimistic (which might be a first for me), but I think
it's quite possible we will have something that multiple people can
work with in the not too distant future.

The current approach is based on (a private) github repo. But, this
should prove up the ability for many of us to work on recipes
collaboratively. We are also playing with a wiki approach to simplify
keeping the files in a format that is easy for O'Reilly to publish.

I've also had a conversation with Nat and Tom. They are currently
wrapping up the next edition of Programming Perl, so they not
enthusiastic about adding to the pile at this moment. After some
discussion, they understand we are not looking to "take away" the
cookbook as a community. Nat is planning to look into the logistics of
how this would impact a next edition of the Cookbook. 

All in all, I'm hoping we will be able to start working on this soon.
It's going slower than I had hoped. But, it also hasn't turned into a
big disaster like I sort of expected.

There have also been several potential spin-offs of this idea that I've
discussed at length. I see the following potential goals to pursue:

* Provide updated information on some subset of the current Cookbook
  recipes. This includes the idea that Nat and Tom might use some of
  our ideas and input in their next update of the book
* A community project that can help spread the fundamentals of Perl
  coding to junior members of our PM groups.
* Possibility of building other cookbooks targeted at other areas of
  Perl usage besides the core information contained in the main Perl
  Cookbook.

The last is one of those ideas where I really think the community could
provide a completely new benefit while relieving the main Perl Cookbook
from the burden of covering too much.

I'll keep the group posted as I learn anything that I can spread around.

G. Wade
-- 
There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one
works. -- Alan Perlis


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