CONCEPT
JAPH
- JAPH is an acronym for "Just another Perl hacker," a phrase I created and popularized. It originated as a signature in Usenet posts and evolved into a form of "Perl poetry" or "Perl golf," where the goal is to write a short, creative Perl program that prints the phrase.
Origin
- The practice began with me adapting a common Usenet signature trope, "Just another XXX hacker," for various newsgroups. In Perl-related groups, this naturally became "Just another Perl hacker."
- Growing tired of the static signature, I began to experiment by writing small, varied Perl programs that would output the phrase. This turned the signature from a simple string into a demonstration of Perl's expressive and often quirky syntax.
- This playful act of code as a signature is considered a precursor or a close relative to the practices of "obfu-perl" (obfuscated Perl) and "Perl golf" (writing the shortest possible code to achieve a task).
Courtroom Citation
- During the closing arguments of my 1995 criminal trial (State of Oregon v. Randal Schwartz), the prosecutor cited my signature phrase
"Just another Perl hacker,"as evidence of bad character, telling the court: "And he even calls himself a 'hacker'!"—conflating the classic programming meaning ("clever") with "criminal." See The Prosecutor Citing Just Another Perl Hacker in Court.
- During the closing arguments of my 1995 criminal trial (State of Oregon v. Randal Schwartz), the prosecutor cited my signature phrase
What links here
These facts are as Randal recalls them, but much time has passed for most of this. If you find a factual error, please email realmerlyn@gmail.com.