Arhuman's Blog

I’m a 52 years old French guy, father of 2 boys and a princess.

I’m an entrepreneur paid to solve complex problems involving computers, usually by building tools (software) or manipulating huge quantity of data, or sometimes coaching or managing people. On my free time I like to do the exact same things as it’s my passion. (More references on my Linkedin profile)

I’m an unorthodox person, so instead of trying to paint an inaccurate portrait of myself, here are some facts:

  • I’ve been coding since I was 13 (it was in BASIC at the time).
  • I first installed Linux in 1993 (it was a Slackware)
  • I loved Perl enough to create a user group and (co-)organize national event.
  • I’m a proud Gopher (and produce a podcast about Go language in French)
  • In a previous life I did quite a lot of security (and even hold a specialization in Cryptography)
  • I like to solve complex problems
  • I practised many Martial Arts (Arnis, Vo Thuat, Muay Thai, Pencak Silat, Tae kwon do, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)
  • I coded in many languages (including COBOL,)

If you prefer more conventional information or need references, see my Linkedin profile

CPAN modules you love to hate

Arnaud (Arhuman) ASSAD
Article

Originally published in June 2011 on my previous blog. Fifteen years later the language has changed, the problem has not.

If one thing starts to bother me in the Perl universe, it’s all the dependencies which force you to pull half of the CPAN each time you try to install a major module.

Don’t get me wrong: I love Perl, I love CPAN, I love modules and I definitively love code reuse BUT may be we start doing it the wrong way.

Becoming an Iron Man

Arnaud (Arhuman) ASSAD
Article

Originally published in June 2010 on my previous blog, in both English and French. The Iron Man challenge is long over, but the diagnosis about a community’s duty to market its own language has aged well.

I came across a comic that illustrates well, to my mind, the issue with Perl’s popularity: XKCD: The secret of the Universe

Wherever the place I’ve worked, Perl was present to one degree or another, often in a crucial place, without its use being advertised or even known. I’ve long believed, that it was the reason why Perl wasn’t as popular as it could be, despite its use.