NAME

       perlcommunity - a brief overview of the Perl community

DESCRIPTION

       This document aims to provide an overview of the vast perl community, which is far too large and diverse
       to provide a detailed listing. If any specific niche has been forgotten, it is not meant as an insult but
       an omission for the sake of brevity.

       The Perl community is as diverse as Perl, and there is a large amount of evidence that the Perl users
       apply TMTOWTDI to all endeavors, not just programming. From websites, to IRC, to mailing lists, there is
       more than one way to get involved in the community.

   Where to Find the Community
       There is a central directory for the Perl community: <https://perl.org> maintained by the Perl Foundation
       (<https://www.perlfoundation.org/>), which tracks and provides services for a variety of other community
       sites.

       Raku

       Perl's sister language, Raku (formerly known as Perl 6), maintains its own directory of community
       resources at <https://raku.org/community/>.

   Mailing Lists and Newsgroups
       Perl runs on e-mail; there is no doubt about it. The Camel book was originally written mostly over e-mail
       and today Perl's development is co-ordinated through mailing lists. The largest repository of Perl
       mailing lists is located at <https://lists.perl.org>.

       Most Perl-related projects set up mailing lists for both users and contributors. If you don't see a
       certain project listed at <https://lists.perl.org>, check the particular website for that project.  Most
       mailing lists are archived at <https://www.nntp.perl.org/>.

   IRC
       The Perl community has a rather large IRC presence. For starters, it has its own IRC network,
       <irc://irc.perl.org>. General (not help-oriented) chat can be found at <irc://irc.perl.org/#perl>. Many
       other more specific chats are also hosted on the network. Information about irc.perl.org is located on
       the network's website: <https://www.irc.perl.org>. For a more help-oriented #perl, check out
       <irc://irc.libera.chat/#perl> (webchat <https://web.libera.chat/#perl>). Most Perl-related channels will
       be kind enough to point you in the right direction if you ask nicely.

       Any large IRC network (Dalnet, EFnet) is also likely to have a #perl channel, with varying activity
       levels.

   Websites
       Perl websites come in a variety of forms, but they fit into two large categories: forums and news
       websites. There are many Perl-related websites, so only a few of the community's largest are mentioned
       here.

       News sites

       <https://perl.com/>
           Originally  run  by  O'Reilly  Media  (the  publisher  of  the Camel Book, this site provides quality
           articles mostly about technical details of Perl.

       <http://blogs.perl.org/>
           Many members of the community have a Perl-related blog on this site. If you'd like to join them,  you
           can sign up for free.

       <https://perl.theplanetarium.org/>
           Planet Perl is one of several aggregators of Perl-related blog feeds.

       <https://perlweekly.com/>
           Perl  Weekly  is a weekly mailing list that keeps you up to date on conferences, releases and notable
           blog posts.

       Forums

       <https://www.perlmonks.org/>
           PerlMonks is one of the largest Perl forums, and describes itself as  "A  place  for  individuals  to
           polish,  improve, and showcase their Perl skills." and "A community which allows everyone to grow and
           learn from each other."

       <https://stackoverflow.com/>
           Stack Overflow is a free question-and-answer site for programmers. It's not focussed solely on  Perl,
           but  it  does  have  an  active  group  of  users  who  do  their best to help people with their Perl
           programming questions.

   User Groups
       Many cities around the world have local Perl Mongers chapters. A Perl Mongers chapter  is  a  local  user
       group  which  typically holds regular in-person meetings, both social and technical; helps organize local
       conferences, workshops, and hackathons; and provides a mailing list or other continual contact method for
       its members to keep in touch.

       To find your local Perl Mongers (or PM as they're commonly abbreviated)  group  check  the  international
       Perl Mongers directory at <https://www.pm.org/>.

   Workshops
       Perl  workshops  are,  as the name might suggest, workshops where Perl is taught in a variety of ways. At
       the workshops, subjects range from a beginner's introduction (such  as  the  Pittsburgh  Perl  Workshop's
       "Zero To Perl") to much more advanced subjects.

       There  are  several  great  resources  for locating workshops: the websites mentioned above, the calendar
       mentioned below, and the YAPC Europe website, <http://www.yapceurope.org/>, which is  probably  the  best
       resource for European Perl events.

   Hackathons
       Hackathons are a very different kind of gathering where Perl hackers gather to do just that, hack nonstop
       for  an extended (several day) period on a specific project or projects. Information about hackathons can
       be located in the same place as information about workshops as well as in <irc://irc.perl.org/#perl>.

       If you have never been to a hackathon, here are a few basic things you need  to  know  before  attending:
       have  a  working  laptop  and  know  how  to use it; check out the involved projects beforehand; have the
       necessary version control client; and bring backup  equipment  (an  extra  LAN  cable,  additional  power
       strips, etc.)  because someone will forget.

   Conventions
       Perl  had  two major annual conventions: The Perl Conference (now part of OSCON), put on by O'Reilly, and
       Yet Another Perl Conference or YAPC (pronounced yap-see), which is localized into several regional  YAPCs
       (North America, Europe, Asia) in a stunning grassroots display by the Perl community.

       In  2016,  YAPC  was  rebranded  as The Perl Conference again. It is now referred to as The Perl and Raku
       Conference.

       OSCON had been discontinued.

       For more information about either conference, check out their respective web pages:

       •   The Perl Conference

           <http://perlconference.us/>.

       •   OSCON

           <https://www.oreilly.com/conferences/>

       An additional conference franchise with a large Perl portion was the Open Source Developers Conference or
       OSDC. First held in Australia, it also spread to Israel and France. More information  can  be  found  at:
       <http://www.osdc.org.il> for Israel, and <http://www.osdc.fr/> for France.

   Calendar of Perl Events
       The  Perl  Review,  <http://www.theperlreview.com>  maintains  a website and Google calendar for tracking
       workshops, hackathons, Perl Mongers meetings, and other events. A view of this calendar is  available  at
       <https://www.perl.org/events.html>.

       Not  every  event  or  Perl Mongers group is on that calendar, so don't lose heart if you don't see yours
       posted. To have your event or group listed, contact brian d foy (brian@theperlreview.com).

AUTHOR

       Edgar "Trizor" Bering <trizor@gmail.com>

perl v5.38.2                                       2025-04-08                                   PERLCOMMUNITY(1)