perlcommunity(1)


NAME

   perlcommunity - a brief overview of the Perl community

DESCRIPTION

   This document aims to provide an overview of the vast perl community,
   which is far too large and diverse to provide a detailed listing. If
   any specific niche has been forgotten, it is not meant as an insult but
   an omission for the sake of brevity.

   The Perl community is as diverse as Perl, and there is a large amount
   of evidence that the Perl users apply TMTOWTDI to all endeavors, not
   just programming. From websites, to IRC, to mailing lists, there is
   more than one way to get involved in the community.

   Where to Find the Community
   There is a central directory for the Perl community: <http://perl.org>
   maintained by the Perl Foundation (<http://www.perlfoundation.org/>),
   which tracks and provides services for a variety of other community
   sites.

   Mailing Lists and Newsgroups
   Perl runs on e-mail; there is no doubt about it. The Camel book was
   originally written mostly over e-mail and today Perl's development is
   co-ordinated through mailing lists. The largest repository of Perl
   mailing lists is located at <http://lists.perl.org>.

   Most Perl-related projects set up mailing lists for both users and
   contributors. If you don't see a certain project listed at
   <http://lists.perl.org>, check the particular website for that project.
   Most mailing lists are archived at <http://nntp.perl.org/>.

   There are also plenty of Perl related newsgroups located under
   "comp.lang.perl.*".

   IRC
   The Perl community has a rather large IRC presence. For starters, it
   has its own IRC network, <irc://irc.perl.org>. General (not help-
   oriented) chat can be found at <irc://irc.perl.org/#perl>. Many other
   more specific chats are also hosted on the network. Information about
   irc.perl.org is located on the network's website:
   <http://www.irc.perl.org>. For a more help-oriented #perl, check out
   <irc://irc.freenode.net/#perl>. Perl 6 development also has a presence
   in <irc://irc.freenode.net/#perl6>. Most Perl-related channels will be
   kind enough to point you in the right direction if you ask nicely.

   Any large IRC network (Dalnet, EFnet) is also likely to have a #perl
   channel, with varying activity levels.

   Websites
   Perl websites come in a variety of forms, but they fit into two large
   categories: forums and news websites. There are many Perl-related
   websites, so only a few of the community's largest are mentioned here.

   News sites

   <http://perl.com/>
       Originally run by O'Reilly Media (the publisher of the Camel Book,
       this site provides quality articles mostly about technical details
       of Perl.

   <http://blogs.perl.org/>
       Many members of the community have a Perl-related blog on this
       site. If you'd like to join them, you can sign up for free.

   <http://perlsphere.net/>
       Perlsphere is one of several aggregators of Perl-related blog
       feeds.

   <http://perlweekly.com/>
       Perl Weekly is a weekly mailing list that keeps you up to date on
       conferences, releases and notable blog posts.

   <http://use.perl.org/>
       use Perl; used to provide a slashdot-style news/blog website
       covering all things Perl, from minutes of the meetings of the Perl
       6 Design team to conference announcements with (ir)relevant
       discussion. It no longer accepts updates, but you can still use the
       site to read old entries and comments.

   Forums

   <http://www.perlmonks.org/>
       PerlMonks is one of the largest Perl forums, and describes itself
       as "A place for individuals to polish, improve, and showcase their
       Perl skills." and "A community which allows everyone to grow and
       learn from each other."

   <http://stackoverflow.com/>
       Stack Overflow is a free question-and-answer site for programmers.
       It's not focussed solely on Perl, but it does have an active group
       of users who do their best to help people with their Perl
       programming questions.

   <http://prepan.org/>
       PrePAN is used as a place to discuss modules that you're
       considering uploading to the CPAN.  You can get feedback on their
       design before you upload.

   User Groups
   Many cities around the world have local Perl Mongers chapters. A Perl
   Mongers chapter is a local user group which typically holds regular in-
   person meetings, both social and technical; helps organize local
   conferences, workshops, and hackathons; and provides a mailing list or
   other continual contact method for its members to keep in touch.

   To find your local Perl Mongers (or PM as they're commonly abbreviated)
   group check the international Perl Mongers directory at
   <http://www.pm.org/>.

   Workshops
   Perl workshops are, as the name might suggest, workshops where Perl is
   taught in a variety of ways. At the workshops, subjects range from a
   beginner's introduction (such as the Pittsburgh Perl Workshop's "Zero
   To Perl") to much more advanced subjects.

   There are several great resources for locating workshops: the websites
   mentioned above, the calendar mentioned below, and the YAPC Europe
   website, <http://www.yapceurope.org/>, which is probably the best
   resource for European Perl events.

   Hackathons
   Hackathons are a very different kind of gathering where Perl hackers
   gather to do just that, hack nonstop for an extended (several day)
   period on a specific project or projects. Information about hackathons
   can be located in the same place as information about workshops as well
   as in <irc://irc.perl.org/#perl>.

   If you have never been to a hackathon, here are a few basic things you
   need to know before attending: have a working laptop and know how to
   use it; check out the involved projects beforehand; have the necessary
   version control client; and bring backup equipment (an extra LAN cable,
   additional power strips, etc.)  because someone will forget.

   Conventions
   Perl has two major annual conventions: The Perl Conference (now part of
   OSCON), put on by O'Reilly, and Yet Another Perl Conference or YAPC
   (pronounced yap-see), which is localized into several regional YAPCs
   (North America, Europe, Asia) in a stunning grassroots display by the
   Perl community. For more information about either conference, check out
   their respective web pages: OSCON <http://conferences.oreillynet.com/>;
   YAPC <http://www.yapc.org>.

   A relatively new conference franchise with a large Perl portion is the
   Open Source Developers Conference or OSDC. First held in Australia it
   has recently also spread to Israel and France. More information can be
   found at: <http://www.osdc.com.au/> for Australia,
   <http://www.osdc.org.il> for Israel, and <http://www.osdc.fr/> for
   France.

   Calendar of Perl Events
   The Perl Review, <http://www.theperlreview.com> maintains a website and
   Google calendar (<http://www.theperlreview.com/community_calendar>) for
   tracking workshops, hackathons, Perl Mongers meetings, and other
   events. Views of this calendar are at <http://www.perl.org/events.html>
   and <http://www.yapc.org>.

   Not every event or Perl Mongers group is on that calendar, so don't
   lose heart if you don't see yours posted. To have your event or group
   listed, contact brian d foy (brian@theperlreview.com).

AUTHOR

   Edgar "Trizor" Bering <trizor@gmail.com>





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