I couldn't let this untruth stand unchallenged:

Perl is not C++. It isn't type-safe

While the first part is certainly true, the second part is absolutely not. Perl is compile-time type-safe in that a scalar cannot be accessed as a hash or array, nor can an array be accessed as a scalar or hash, etc etc. Perl is also run-time type-safe in that an object method cannot be called on an object that does not understand it without triggering an exception.

Just because Perl is "smalltalk-like" in its type safety doesn't mean you have to "dis" it if you've only seen Java and C++ type-safety.

And for the record, I prefer Perl's type safety to "always and only compile-time" type-safety in those other languages. For every hour you spend "working around" those, you could have been coding another useful hour instead.

Compile-time type safety is neither necessary nor sufficient.

-- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker

---

---

• Are you posting in the right place? Check out Where do I post X? to know for sure.
• Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags. Currently these include the following:

  <code> <a> <b> <big> <blockquote> <br /> <dd> <dl> <dt> <em> <font> <h1> <h2> <h3> <h4> <h5> <h6> <hr /> <i> <li> <nbsp> <ol> <p> <small> <strike> <strong> <sub> <sup> <table> <td> <th> <tr> <tt> <u> <ul>

• Snippets of code should be wrapped in <code> tags not <pre> tags. In fact, <pre> tags should generally be avoided. If they must be used, extreme care should be taken to ensure that their contents do not have long lines (<70 chars), in order to prevent horizontal scrolling (and possible janitor intervention).
• Want more info? How to link or How to display code and escape characters are good places to start.