Perl Style: Everyone Has an Opinion

Jan 1, 1998 by Tom Christiansen

• Style can easily become a religious issue.
• What I am about to tell you is mostly my opinion. It includes both general philosophy and concrete tips.
• Warning: I may not always follow my own tips. :-)
• I do not expect all of you to agree with me all the time. Choose a style and stick with it. Consistency is critical.
• I owe indirectly K&P, K&R, S&W, Rob Pike, and Larry Wall for laying the foundations, and directly Jon Orwant, Mark-Jason Dominus, and Nat Torkington for reviewing early versions of these notes.
• `Under no circumstances should you program the way I say to because I say to; program the way you think expresses best what you’re trying to accomplish in the program. And do so consistently and ruthlessly.’ –Rob Pike

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Copyright © 1998, Tom Christiansen All rights reserved.