Simplifying the README? (was Re: [MacPerl] installing libraries inmac perl)

[David Dierauer <dierauer@cse.msu.edu>]

Although I normally hesitate to jump into the middle of
discussions that are bordering on flame-wars, I think my input as
someone who is not a Unix or Perl guru might be valuable.

Here is Ronald J Kimball's recent contribution to this
discussion:
> 
> Oh, come on.  This is a programming environment.  It's not a word processor
> or a drawing program.  It doesn't even have fancy wizards, startup tips, or
> tutorials.  Anyone who wants to use MacPerl *must* be able to cope with
> documentation.  There is no way around that.
> 
> If, as Bart asserts, newbies will take a single look at the docs and toss
> MacPerl immediately, then I see only two solutions:
> 
> 1) Distribute MacPerl with almost no documentation whatsoever.
>    (All the perl pod?  Nope, that's a folder full of documentation,
>    can't scare the newbies.)
> 
> 2) Accept that some people will not be able to handle MacPerl.
> 
> I prefer the latter solution.

This seems a bit unfair. I first downloaded MacPerl before I had
started a course on Perl (through the HTML Writers Guild,
www.hwg.org). I had been using UNIX systems for years, but only
casually. I had taken some basic programming classes, and
consider myself a Mac power user.

AND THOSE MACPERL DOCS WERE DAMN CONFUSING AND INTIMIDATING!

I have to agree with Matt on this; to the Mac user who's not a
UNIX guru, the perl docs are way too complicated.

Incidentally, since I've taken my Perl class, I've been having a
blast with Perl, both at work and at home. It's a way-cool
language, and I'm able to do really productive things. I hardly
think my being initially intimidated by the perl docs means that
I am "not able to handle MacPerl".

I am now in a position where I appreciate the thoroughness of the
documentation. I'm not someone who requires a lot of hand-holding
in general; a lot of my computer knowledge is self-taught. But
it's important to be clear about how to get started!

-David Dierauer
Computer Science student, Michigan State University
former reference librarian



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