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1 | =head1 NAME |
2 | ||
3 | perlcommunity - a brief overview of the Perl community | |
4 | ||
5 | =head1 DESCRIPTION | |
6 | ||
7 | This document aims to provide an overview of the vast perl community, which is | |
8 | far too large and diverse to provide a detailed listing. If any specific niche | |
9 | has been forgotten, it is not meant as an insult but an omission for the sake | |
10 | of brevity. | |
11 | ||
12 | The Perl community is as diverse as Perl, and there is a large amount of | |
13 | evidence that the Perl users apply TMTOWTDI to all endeavors, not just | |
14 | programming. From websites, to IRC, to mailing lists, there is more than one | |
15 | way to get involved in the community. | |
16 | ||
17 | =head2 Where to find the community | |
18 | ||
19 | There is a central directory for the Perl community: L<http://perl.org> | |
20 | maintained by the Perl Foundation (L<http://www.perlfoundation.org/>), | |
21 | which tracks and provides services for a variety of other community sites. | |
22 | ||
23 | =head2 Mailing lists and Newsgroups | |
24 | ||
25 | Perl runs on e-mail, there is no doubt about it. The Camel book was originally | |
26 | written mostly over e-mail and today Perl's development is co-ordinated through | |
27 | mailing lists. The largest repository of Perl mailing lists is located at | |
28 | L<http://lists.perl.org>. | |
29 | ||
30 | Most Perl-related projects set up mailing lists for both users and | |
31 | contributors. If you don't see a certain project listed at | |
32 | L<http://lists.perl.org>, check the particular website for that project. | |
33 | Most mailing lists are archived at L<http://nntp.perl.org/>. | |
34 | ||
35 | There are also plenty of Perl related newsgroups located under | |
36 | C<comp.lang.perl.*>. | |
37 | ||
38 | =head2 IRC | |
39 | ||
40 | The Perl community has a rather large IRC presence. For starters, it has its | |
41 | own IRC network, L<irc://irc.perl.org>. General (not help-oriented) chat can be | |
42 | found at L<irc://irc.perl.org/#perl>. Many other more specific chats are also | |
43 | hosted on the network. Information about irc.perl.org is located on the | |
44 | network's website: L<http://www.irc.perl.org>. For a more help oriented #perl, | |
241e7389 | 45 | check out L<irc://irc.freenode.net/#perl>. Perl 6 development also has a |
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46 | presence in L<irc://irc.freenode.net/#perl6>. Most Perl-related channels will |
47 | be kind enough to point you in the right direction if you ask nicely. | |
48 | ||
49 | Any large IRC network (Dalnet, EFnet) is also likely to have a #perl channel, | |
50 | with varying activity levels. | |
51 | ||
52 | =head2 Websites | |
53 | ||
54 | Perl websites come in a variety of forms, but they fit into two large | |
55 | categories: forums and news websites. There are many Perl related | |
56 | websites, so only a few of the community's largest are mentioned here. | |
57 | ||
58 | =head3 News sites | |
59 | ||
60 | =over 4 | |
61 | ||
62 | =item L<http://perl.com/> | |
63 | ||
64 | Run by O'Reilly Media (The publisher of L<the Camel Book|perlbook> among other | |
65 | Perl-related literature), perl.com provides current Perl news, articles, and | |
66 | resources for Perl developers as well as a directory of other useful websites. | |
67 | ||
68 | =item L<http://use.perl.org/> | |
69 | ||
70 | use Perl; provides a slashdot-style Perl news website covering all things Perl, | |
241e7389 | 71 | from minutes of the meetings of the Perl 6 Design team to conference |
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72 | announcements with (ir)relevant discussion. |
73 | ||
74 | =back | |
75 | ||
76 | =head3 Forums | |
77 | ||
78 | =over 4 | |
79 | ||
80 | =item L<http://www.perlmonks.org/> | |
81 | ||
82 | PerlMonks is one of the largest Perl forums, and describes itself as "A place | |
83 | for individuals to polish, improve, and showcase their Perl skills." and "A | |
84 | community which allows everyone to grow and learn from each other." | |
85 | ||
86 | =back | |
87 | ||
88 | =head2 User Groups | |
89 | ||
10a3d64e | 90 | Many cities around the world have local Perl Mongers chapters. A Perl Mongers |
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91 | chapter is a local user group which typically holds regular in-person meetings, |
92 | both social and technical; helps organize local conferences, workshops, and | |
93 | hackathons; and provides a mailing list or other continual contact method for | |
94 | its members to keep in touch. | |
95 | ||
10a3d64e | 96 | To find your local Perl Mongers (or PM as they're commonly abbreviated) group |
97 | check the international Perl Mongers directory at L<http://www.pm.org/>. | |
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98 | |
99 | =head2 Workshops | |
100 | ||
101 | Perl workshops are, as the name might suggest, workshops where Perl is taught | |
102 | in a variety of ways. At the workshops, subjects range from a beginner's | |
103 | introduction (such as the Pittsburgh Perl Workshop's "Zero To Perl") to much | |
104 | more advanced subjects. | |
105 | ||
106 | There are several great resources for locating workshops: the | |
107 | L<websites|"Websites"> mentioned above, the | |
108 | L<calendar|"Calendar of Perl Events"> mentioned below, and the YAPC Europe | |
109 | website, L<http://www.yapceurope.org/>, which is probably the best resource for | |
110 | European Perl events. | |
111 | ||
112 | =head2 Hackathons | |
113 | ||
114 | Hackathons are a very different kind of gathering where Perl hackers gather to | |
115 | do just that, hack nonstop for an extended (several day) period on a specific | |
116 | project or projects. Information about hackathons can be located in the same | |
117 | place as information about L<workshops|"Workshops"> as well as in | |
118 | L<irc://irc.perl.org/#perl>. | |
119 | ||
120 | If you have never been to a hackathon, here are a few basic things you need to | |
121 | know before attending: have a working laptop and know how to use it; check out | |
122 | the involved projects before hand; have the necessary version control client; | |
123 | and bring backup equipment (an extra LAN cable, additional power strips, etc.) | |
124 | because someone will forget. | |
125 | ||
126 | =head2 Conventions | |
127 | ||
128 | Perl has two major annual conventions: The Perl Conference (now part of OSCON), | |
129 | put on by O'Reilly, and Yet Another Perl Conference or YAPC (pronounced | |
130 | yap-see), which is localized into several regional YAPCs (North America, | |
131 | Europe, Asia) in a stunning grassroots display by the Perl community. For more | |
132 | information about either conference, check out their respective web pages: | |
133 | OSCON L<http://conferences.oreillynet.com/>; YAPC L<http://www.yapc.org>. | |
134 | ||
80983d21 | 135 | A relatively new conference franchise with a large Perl portion is the |
cbd87e7e | 136 | Open Source Developers Conference or OSDC. First held in Australia it has |
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137 | recently also spread to Israel and France. More information can be found at: |
138 | L<http://www.osdc.com.au/> for Australia, L<http://www.osdc.org.il> | |
139 | for Israel, and L<http://www.osdc.fr/> for France. | |
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140 | |
141 | =head2 Calendar of Perl Events | |
142 | ||
10a3d64e | 143 | The Perl Review, L<http://www.theperlreview.com> maintains a website |
144 | and Google calendar | |
145 | (L<http://www.theperlreview.com/community_calendar>) for tracking | |
146 | workshops, hackathons, Perl Mongers meetings, and other events. Views | |
147 | of this calendar are at L<http://www.perl.org/events.html> and | |
148 | L<http://www.yapc.org>. | |
149 | ||
150 | Not every event or Perl Mongers group is on that calendar, so don't lose | |
151 | heart if you don't see yours posted. To have your event or group listed, | |
152 | contact brian d foy (brian@theperlreview.com). | |
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153 | |
154 | =head1 AUTHOR | |
155 | ||
156 | Edgar "Trizor" Bering <trizor@gmail.com> | |
157 | ||
158 | =cut |