Black Perl

<h2 id="attribution">Attribution</h2>
<p>When posted to the comp.lang.perl newsgroup the poem was attributed to "a person who wishes to remain anonymous".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> Sharon Rauenzahn (<a href="/facts/N%25C3%25A9e/FctFJcbg">née</a> Hopkins), another Perl poet, has been suspected to be the author but has since denied the claim.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="result-of-program-execution">Result of program execution</h2>
<p>When executed, "Black Perl" exits on line one, upon reaching the function <a href="http://perldoc.perl.org/functions/exit.html">exit</a>. The remaining lines are parsed by the Perl interpreter but never actually executed. The program produces no output.
</p><p>Though it will not parse under <a href="/facts/Perl_5/fx31kjlT">Perl 5</a>, multiple independent updates to "Black Perl" to make it parsable in Perl 5 have been published.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="black-perl">"Black Perl"</h2>
BEFOREHAND: close door, each window & exit; wait until time.
    open spellbook, study, read (scan, select, tell us);
write it, print the hex while each watches,
    reverse its length, write again;
    kill spiders, pop them, chop, split, kill them.
        unlink arms, shift, wait & listen (listening, wait),
sort the flock (then, warn the "goats" & kill the "sheep");
    kill them, dump qualms, shift moralities,
    values aside, each one;
        die sheep! die to reverse the system
        you accept (reject, respect);
next step,
    kill the next sacrifice, each sacrifice,
    wait, redo ritual until "all the spirits are pleased";
    do it ("as they say").
do it(*everyone***must***participate***in***forbidden**s*e*x*).
return last victim; package body;
    exit crypt (time, times & "half a time") & close it,
    select (quickly) & warn your next victim;
AFTERWORDS: tell nobody.
    wait, wait until time;
    wait until next year, next decade;
        sleep, sleep, die yourself,
        die at last

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Digital_poetry/nAV7o4Lp">Digital poetry</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/PerlMonks/KbnsXlPp">PerlMonks</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Wall, Larry; Christiansen, Tom; Orwant, Jon (July 2000). Programming Perl, Third Edition. O'Reilly. p. 649. ISBN 0-596-00027-8. <a href="0-596-00027-8" target="_blank">0-596-00027-8</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Segura, Cynthia Anne (2004). Perls of wisdom: Computer language and Perl poetry (Thesis). ProQuest 305162869.[page needed] <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Kerr, Chris; Holden, Daniel (2023). "Optimizing Code for Performance: Reading ./code --poetry". In Korecka, Magdalena Elisabeth; Vorrath, Wiebke (eds.). Poetry and contemporary visual culture: = Lyrik und zeitgenössische Visuelle Kultur. Poetry in the digital age. Berlin: De Gruyter. p. 172. ISBN 978-3-11-129933-4. <a href="978-3-11-129933-4" target="_blank">978-3-11-129933-4</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Tomasula, Steve (30 December 2014). "Our Tools Make Us (And Our Literature) Post: Essai édité par Jean-Yves Pellegrin (Université Paris-Sorbonne)". Transatlantica (2). doi:10.4000/transatlantica.7102. <a href="https://doi.org/10.4000%2Ftransatlantica.7102" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.4000%2Ftransatlantica.7102</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Wall, Larry; Christiansen, Tom; Orwant, Jon (July 2000). Programming Perl, Third Edition. O'Reilly. p. 649. ISBN 0-596-00027-8. <a href="0-596-00027-8" target="_blank">0-596-00027-8</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Sharon Hopkins (1993-04-16). "Re: Forking a bunch of processes..." Newsgroup: comp.lang.perl. Usenet: 1993Apr16.233742.21214@cheshire.oxy.edu. Retrieved December 5, 2014. <a href="https://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&selm=1993Apr16.233742.21214@cheshire.oxy.edu" target="_blank">https://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&selm=1993Apr16.233742.21214@cheshire.oxy.edu</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>jonadab (2003-02-21). "Black Perl updated for Perl 5". Retrieved 2007-09-15. <a href="http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=237465" target="_blank">http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=237465</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>Ovid (2006-10-17). "Black Perl Revisited". Retrieved 2007-09-15. <a href="http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=578707" target="_blank">http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=578707</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Black Perl open-in-new

Black Perl