Perl was once described as "the swiss army chainsaw of scripting languages." For a second I thought they meant Larry Wall. I associate Matt Trout more with his libraries and the Catalyst framework. Definitely a Perl guru tho. RIP, buddy.
this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2025
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how the hell did a Perl guru younger than me come to exist? I'd have figured they're all 50+ bare minimum.
Matt started young. Only a few years before I started in earnest. We were all kids in our 20s when I got to know Matt. I think everyone I knew back in the day must be at least 40 at this point. Before the community evaporated and the world moved on, a lot of cool shit was built in Perl and our community was pretty welcoming. Even to 18-25-somethings with more technical skill than sense. Such a wild time to look back on. So now you can say "how can there be at least two JAPHs younger than me" 😉
People mention his bluntness, even rudeness; his propensity for swearing; his intolerance of fools and stupid questions, and blistering responses thereto; his fondness for good beer, apparently in large amounts, and his consequent antipathy for early mornings; his passion for the things he cared about, which often could spill over into anger… and his subsequent regret and apologies. I've done much the same, and had similar written about me.
And he was from Lancaster!? Next you'll tell me there's water at the bottom of the ocean ...