Perl Christmas Quiz 2009

[Martin A. Brooks]

Merry Ex-Mass.



A sysadmin and pedant's point of view....


On 30/11/2009 18:24, Chris Jack wrote:
> 1) Without running it to check, what does the following program output?

Something like:

bash: syntax error near unexpected token '('

Don't assume my default interpreter is your default interpreter.


> 2) If you received a perl mongers award for contributions to the Perl
> community, what colour/type of camel would the award be?

One that knew where to use an apostrophe.


> 3) What is Perl XS? What does XS stand for?


"Assuming infinite CPU power, infinite memory, infinite disk space and 
infinite bandwidth, writing a shopping cart..."


> 4) Based on your answer to the previous question, what do you conclude about
> Perl programmers spelling ability?


There's not enough oleum in the world.


> 5) Write a short perl program that has a memory leak. Bonus mark for one line
> solutions. Second bonus mark for the shortest program.

See "infinite memory" above.


> 6) What is the name of the official Soft Toy Camel of the London Perl Mongers?
> Bonus mark if you own one.

richardc.


> 7) Write a one line program that takes a non-negative integer as an argument
> and prints the square root when the answer's an integer.

No. Write a program that isn't crammed with FAIL, and isn't a pain in 
the arse to roll out and maintain.  Go on, we sysadmins dare you.


> 8) According to amazon.co.uk, what is the best selling Perl book so far in 2009?

According to the ticket queue, I'd say "Perl for dummies in 7 days or less".


> 9) What is the youtube.com link for the perl v other languages videos
> discussed on this list, and also the bubble sort video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jDfSqtG2E4

> 10) What is the highest value of X that is a currently available, stable
> production release of perl 5.X?

5.10.0-19lenny2  duh.



> 11) Think of a witty and/or interesting Perl Christmas quiz question and
> answer it.


...and here are 10 reasons why I can justify my salary....