Face lift survey

From: Dan Muey (dmuey_at_infiniplex.com)
Date: 10/30/03 

Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 16:59:35 -0600
To: <beginners@perl.org>

Here's a thought I'd like to get opinions on...

A recent post that talked about a php calendar script got me thinking.
One thing that draws people who don't know better to PHP over Perl is
that the php scripts they can get look really really nice, phpbb, for instance.
Those developers have spent much time in making it look very nice which is good.

The thing is that most people don't take the time to realize that it's not PHP
that makes it look so nice it's the html/css/styles/images that make it so cool
looking. But since it looks so cool it must be the best right? That's how Windows
got it's place, by looking cool when everything else was ugly cli. (it sure
wasn't it's personality ;p )

--So what am I saying, what is the point man, out with it already!

The point is, does anyone think that with systems developed in Perl
(especially web based ones) we should consciously place more emphasis on the
skin as well as the guts?

For example:
The calendar script mentioned above was pretty slick looking and had nice features.
Every one of those features and more could be and have been done with Perl versions
of the same type of thing. The problem is the free Perl scripts that do the same
things are pretty ugly html wise.

---Who cares you say, it's not Perl's job to make it look nice?
Right but it's not PHP's job either and some of them look very nice.

--OK again, who cares what does it matter?
It matters because people will begin look at PHP as a "pretty" language and Perl as an "Ugly"
Language suitable only for scary nerd in the dark work while they use PHP for what the public
sees. And then shy away from Perl.

--But the world will not end if I make ugly html as long as it works like a tank!
--And what evil will this lead up to besides?
For one, people recommending PHP scripts on a Perl list, the last place
you'd think such a thing would happen.

-- Ok I'm with you but what to do?

I say we each put more personal emphasis on the look of the output
of things we develop and stress that to people the same way we stress
using strict, using modules instead of reinventing stuff, and making
things platform independent.

Thoughts, feelings, pros, cons, pummeling?

Relevant Pages

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