As I was walking around Disneyland, a holiday tradition in my family, I was thinking if I would want the attractions to be run with Perl.
I could not say yes. I do not think Perl is any worse than any other language since it is the programmer's skill, not the language, that decides if I collide with the high-speed roller coaster car in front of me.
In any case, most things still require direct human supervision, and I did not see much opporunity for code---just lots of old-fashioned physics (e.g. lights come on when a car wheel closes a circuit).
I am getting old anyway. Pirates of the Carribean, which is being turned into a movie starring Geoffery Rush, seems safe from programming errors, as do the canoes. The Haunted Mansion, also being adapted for a movie, was done up to look like The Nightmare Before Christmas must have computers somewhere---maybe someone would get crushed under a big animatronic arm if there was a bug---pretty scary.
For those who have never been to Disneyland, you are not missing much---we go because we grew up in Southern California. We go to Disneyland like some people might program in PL/1.
For those who despise Disney in all its forms, remember that Squeak Smalltalk owes its life to Dan Ingalls, a real-life Disney Imagineer.
