On Sunday 18 August 2002 04.33, Jeric wrote:
Hmm, I guess I fell victim to the "apocryphal folklore and post-facto expansions" especially that one about "Practical Extraction and Report Language" :o (i.e. it was an acronym, which would warrant an all upper case spelling) Well, at least that's straight now, thanks :)
I don't know who wrote that faq, but perl *is* an acronym. Here's from the horse's mouth: <quote> Larry: I wanted a short name with positive connotations. (I would never name a language ``Scheme'' or ``Python'', for instance.) I actually looked at every three- and four-letter word in the dictionary and rejected them all. I briefly toyed with the idea of naming it after my wife, Gloria, but that promised to be confusing on the domestic front. Eventually I came up with the name ``pearl'', with the gloss Practical Extraction and Report Language. The ``a'' was still in the name when I made that one up. But I heard rumors of some obscure graphics language named ``pearl'', so I shortened it to ``perl''. (The ``a'' had already disappeared by the time I gave Perl its alternate gloss, Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister.) </quote> http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=3394 The subject of capitalization is treated in the parapraph after the one I quoted. //Anders -- 'Deserves [death]. I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.' --Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings