1PERLCOMMUNITY(1)       Perl Programmers Reference Guide       PERLCOMMUNITY(1)
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NAME

6       perlcommunity - a brief overview of the Perl community
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DESCRIPTION

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

141       Edgar "Trizor" Bering <trizor@gmail.com>
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145perl v5.10.1                      2009-04-11                  PERLCOMMUNITY(1)
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