Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!rodney
From: rodney@dali.ipl.rpi.edu (Rodney Peck II)
Subject: Re: Ruminations on the future of Perl
Message-ID: <trklf=c@rpi.edu>
Nntp-Posting-Host: dali.ipl.rpi.edu
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
References: <WORLEY.91Jun28110759@sn1987a.compass.com> <1991Jun28.212606.19054@convex.com> <RUSTY.91Jun28181513@groan.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 30 Jun 91 21:31:48 GMT
Lines: 41

In article <RUSTY.91Jun28181513@groan.Berkeley.EDU> rusty@groan.Berkeley.EDU (Rusty Wright) writes:
[...]
>Similarly, in the "Syntax" section are examples for opening "foo" and
>dying if it can't be opened, with the classic
>
>	open(foo) || die "Can't open $foo: $!";
>
>(but which I find to be just hackeritis show-off).

I don't understand -- I use this all the time.  really.  what's the
problem?

[...]

>3) getpgrp and getppid: what's wrong with this picture?  I was once
>trying to create a temporary file (wanting to use the process id for
>the file's name) and was amazed that perl doesn't have a getpid
>function.  Then, when I was working on another perl program I stumbled
>across $$.  I was so aggravated I swore out loud.

You must be new to unix -- from the csh man page:

CSH(1)                   USER COMMANDS                     CSH(1)

[...]

     $$   Substitute the process number of the (parent) shell.


Sun Release 4.1    Last change: 2 October 1989                  9

It wasn't Larry's idea.  Everyone has been using $$ as the pid since time
began.  It didn't occur to me that it might not be obvious until you
mentioned that you were swearing out loud about it.  In fact, if you say
man perl and then search for 'process number' it goes right to $$.

Please, lets not be changing perl just because some people can't read the
man page.

-- 
Rodney
