The Art of Perl: How a Scripting Language (inter)Activated the World Wide Web

In 1987, computer programmer and linguist Larry Wall authored the general-purpose, high-level, interpreted, dynamic Unix scripting language, Perl. Borrowing features from C and awk, Perl was originally intended as a scripting language for text-processing. However, with the rising popularity of the I...

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Main Author: Gomez, Norberto, Jr.
Format: Others
Published: VCU Scholars Compass 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/472
http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1471&context=etd
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spelling ndltd-vcu.edu-oai-scholarscompass.vcu.edu-etd-14712017-03-17T08:32:26Z The Art of Perl: How a Scripting Language (inter)Activated the World Wide Web Gomez, Norberto, Jr. In 1987, computer programmer and linguist Larry Wall authored the general-purpose, high-level, interpreted, dynamic Unix scripting language, Perl. Borrowing features from C and awk, Perl was originally intended as a scripting language for text-processing. However, with the rising popularity of the Internet and the advent of Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web (Web), in the 1990s, Perl soon became the glue-language for the Internet, due in large part to its relationship to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). Perl was the go-to language for on the fly program writing and coding, gaining accolades from the likes of publisher Tim O’Reilly and hackers alike. Perl became a favorite language of amateur Web users, whom net artist Olia Lialina calls barbarians, or the indigenous. These users authored everything from database scripts to social spaces like chatrooms and bulletin boards. Perl, while largely ignored today, played a fundamental role in facilitating those social spaces and interactions of Web 1.0, or what I refer to as a Perl-net. Thus, Perl informed today’s more ubiquitous digital culture, referred to as Web 2.0, and the social web. This project examines Perl’s origin which is predicated on postmodern theories, such as deconstructionism and multiculturalism. Perl’s formal features are differentiated from those of others, like Java. In order to defend Perl’s status as an inherently cultural online tool, this project also analyzes many instances of cultural artifacts: script programs, chatrooms, code poetry, webpages, and net art. This cultural analysis is guided by the work of contemporary media archaeologists: Lialina and Dragan Espenschied, Erkki Huhtamo and Jussi Parikka. Lastly, the present state of digital culture is analyzed in an effort to re-consider the Perl scripting language as a relevant, critical computer language, capable of aiding in deprogramming the contemporary user. 2013-04-17T07:00:00Z text application/pdf http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/472 http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1471&context=etd © The Author Theses and Dissertations VCU Scholars Compass digital culture Perl World Wide Web Internet digital art computer Wall Larry postmodernism scripting language programming language web 2.0 post web social web net art web art chat room 4chan anonymous social space web art online Thayer Pall Mendoza Antonio Lialina Olia digital folklore hacker open source digital history Internet history social media social network media studies cultural studies media archaeology Art and Design Arts and Humanities Interdisciplinary Arts and Media
collection NDLTD
format Others
sources NDLTD
topic digital culture
Perl
World Wide Web
Internet
digital art
computer
Wall
Larry
postmodernism
scripting language
programming language
web 2.0
post web
social web
net art
web art
chat room
4chan
anonymous
social space
web art
online
Thayer
Pall
Mendoza
Antonio
Lialina
Olia
digital folklore
hacker
open source
digital history
Internet history
social media
social network
media studies
cultural studies
media archaeology
Art and Design
Arts and Humanities
Interdisciplinary Arts and Media
spellingShingle digital culture
Perl
World Wide Web
Internet
digital art
computer
Wall
Larry
postmodernism
scripting language
programming language
web 2.0
post web
social web
net art
web art
chat room
4chan
anonymous
social space
web art
online
Thayer
Pall
Mendoza
Antonio
Lialina
Olia
digital folklore
hacker
open source
digital history
Internet history
social media
social network
media studies
cultural studies
media archaeology
Art and Design
Arts and Humanities
Interdisciplinary Arts and Media
Gomez, Norberto, Jr.
The Art of Perl: How a Scripting Language (inter)Activated the World Wide Web
description In 1987, computer programmer and linguist Larry Wall authored the general-purpose, high-level, interpreted, dynamic Unix scripting language, Perl. Borrowing features from C and awk, Perl was originally intended as a scripting language for text-processing. However, with the rising popularity of the Internet and the advent of Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web (Web), in the 1990s, Perl soon became the glue-language for the Internet, due in large part to its relationship to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). Perl was the go-to language for on the fly program writing and coding, gaining accolades from the likes of publisher Tim O’Reilly and hackers alike. Perl became a favorite language of amateur Web users, whom net artist Olia Lialina calls barbarians, or the indigenous. These users authored everything from database scripts to social spaces like chatrooms and bulletin boards. Perl, while largely ignored today, played a fundamental role in facilitating those social spaces and interactions of Web 1.0, or what I refer to as a Perl-net. Thus, Perl informed today’s more ubiquitous digital culture, referred to as Web 2.0, and the social web. This project examines Perl’s origin which is predicated on postmodern theories, such as deconstructionism and multiculturalism. Perl’s formal features are differentiated from those of others, like Java. In order to defend Perl’s status as an inherently cultural online tool, this project also analyzes many instances of cultural artifacts: script programs, chatrooms, code poetry, webpages, and net art. This cultural analysis is guided by the work of contemporary media archaeologists: Lialina and Dragan Espenschied, Erkki Huhtamo and Jussi Parikka. Lastly, the present state of digital culture is analyzed in an effort to re-consider the Perl scripting language as a relevant, critical computer language, capable of aiding in deprogramming the contemporary user.
author Gomez, Norberto, Jr.
author_facet Gomez, Norberto, Jr.
author_sort Gomez, Norberto, Jr.
title The Art of Perl: How a Scripting Language (inter)Activated the World Wide Web
title_short The Art of Perl: How a Scripting Language (inter)Activated the World Wide Web
title_full The Art of Perl: How a Scripting Language (inter)Activated the World Wide Web
title_fullStr The Art of Perl: How a Scripting Language (inter)Activated the World Wide Web
title_full_unstemmed The Art of Perl: How a Scripting Language (inter)Activated the World Wide Web
title_sort art of perl: how a scripting language (inter)activated the world wide web
publisher VCU Scholars Compass
publishDate 2013
url http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/472
http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1471&context=etd
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