Christos Argyropoulos MD PhDJan 7, 2023
Help me resolve a domestic dispute issue about #twitter
Help me win a solid $50 by voting on the birdie site
https://twitter.com/ChristosArgyrop/status/1611533974345781250?t=M2jRKYot6xaN5Mp5ZXDNfg&s=19
ChristosArgyropoulos MD, PhD FlozinatorInChief on Twitter

“Place a bet with the wife about the longevity of twitter. I will come up with $50 if the site survives until the presidential election, and I will get $50 (hyperinflated) dollars if the site ceases to exist before the next elections. Are you with:”

Twitter
Show threadMark GardnerJan 7, 2023
@ChristosArgyrop I think you need to define your terms, What do you mean by “survive”? E.g., #Myspace “survives,” but is a shadow of its former self.
Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD PhDJan 7, 2023
@mjgardner www.twitter.com goes the way of the Atari. Wife thinks a MySpace future is possible, I claim clinical death.
Show threadMark GardnerJan 7, 2023
@ChristosArgyrop Nothing ever really dies: #Atari is still a brand. They were bought by a French gaming company in the early 2000s and recently shipped a middling “Atari VCS” #Linux-based console and some #blockchain / #Web3 crap: https://atari.com
Atari | Official Games, Consoles, Merch & News

Discover classic consoles and cartridges, modern titles and never-before-seen art and collectibles from Atari.

Atari®
Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD PhDJan 7, 2023
@mjgardner lol. I owned an Atari STF. We're you an Amiga person?
Show threadMark GardnerJan 7, 2023

@ChristosArgyrop Yes, my platform progression was #C64 -> #Amiga -> classic #Mac (standard issue at #Drexel University at the time) -> #PC -> #MacOSX / #macOS

I grew up in the same town as #Commodore world headquarters, so the school system had a lot of their stuff.

Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD PhDJan 7, 2023
@mjgardner went from STF straight to PCs. I have an old iMac mini from 2010 from a surplus sale
Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD PhDJan 7, 2023
@mjgardner #C64 was so cool. I still remember the fights between those who had one and the kids owing an Amstrad (I don't think those were ever sold in the US).
Show threadMark GardnerJan 7, 2023

@ChristosArgyrop Yah, #Amstrad was very much a European thing from the UK, along with #Sinclair, #Dragon, #Oric, and #Acorn. (Sinclair licensed the #ZX81 and #ZXSpectrum to Timex for a couple US-based models.)

It’s funny how everybody grows up thinking that their experience is the One True Scene for any pop culture or subculture, whether it’s music or TV or computing or whatever.

#retrocomputing

Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD PhD
@mjgardner Unrelated: I can't figure out if given-when is totally out , with the demise of smartsmatching. This is very confusing lol
Jan 7, 2023 at 3:22amTusky
Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD PhDJan 7, 2023
@mjgardner totally out : kiss whereis and whereso
Show threadMark GardnerJan 7, 2023

@ChristosArgyrop @Perl given/when are enabled by `use feature 'switch'` which is listed as experimental at https://perldoc.perl.org/feature#The-'switch'-feature and throws warnings when used. It was included in version feature bundles from `:5.10` through `:5.34`, but it’s gone in `:5.36`: https://perldoc.perl.org/perl5360delta#use-v5.36: “If you want to use it (against our advice), you'll have to enable it explicitly.”

So it’s officially Considered Harmful. Use `for` as a topicalizer as I described here: https://phoenixtrap.com/2021/02/14/switching-up-my-switches/

feature - Perl pragma to enable new features - Perldoc Browser

Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD PhDJan 7, 2023
@mjgardner @Perl yeah, hash-lookup like the way some C compilers implement case-switch. Seems 5.36 is cleaning house
Show threadMark GardnerJan 7, 2023
@ChristosArgyrop @Perl The #Perl housecleaning has been picking up steam for the past few years. v5.14’s perlpolicy document drew a line in the sand, and as the release process has moved from pumpkings to the PSC we’re finally making good on it: “Our community has a long-held belief that backward-compatibility is a virtue, even when the functionality in question is a design flaw.” https://perldoc.perl.org/5.14.0/perlpolicy#BACKWARD-COMPATIBILITY-AND-DEPRECATION
perlpolicy - Various and sundry policies and commitments related to the Perl core - Perldoc Browser

Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD PhDJan 7, 2023
@mjgardner @Perl out of curiosity, isn't there a concern about performance with keeping so many special cases around? Python cut clean with 3.0, so perhaps at some point (Perl 7) this may have to happen here. Same thing could be said about Fortran. Not debating, or challenging, just curious
Show threadMark GardnerJan 7, 2023
@ChristosArgyrop @Perl I defer to the PSC on that. I’m just a loud gadfly.
Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD, PhDJan 7, 2023
@mjgardner @ChristosArgyrop @Perl All these behaviors are set on BEGIN so likely does not matter much. At some point though, the books must be updated. I left the Lang at 5.8 , so many things are new to me and it is fun to see the things that went in favor and fell from grace. But others probably disagree lol
Show threadMark GardnerJan 7, 2023
@ChristosArgyrop @ChristosArgyrop @Perl I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Too many folks either left #Perl at a similar time and froze their opinions, or worse, still use Perl at that level and also have frozen opinions.
Show threadMark GardnerJan 7, 2023
@ChristosArgyrop @Perl The hash lookup in that article’s second example says it’s mainly useful for exact string matching. The `for` topicalizer pattern is still good for arbitrary conditions like the #RegularExpression matches I list, but it could just as easily use `isa` for class matching, or whatever.
Show threadChristos Argyropoulos MD PhDJan 7, 2023
@mjgardner @Perl the topicalizer with the do is a great idea. Cool trick