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).
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.