Rakudo Perl
Encyclopedia
Rakudo Perl is a compiler
that implements the Perl 6
specification and runs on the Parrot virtual machine
. Rakudo Perl is currently in development
.
Originally developed within the Parrot project, its source code
repository was split from that project in February 2009 so that it could be developed independently, though at that time there were still many dependencies. One goal is to rewrite methods
using higher-level Perl 6 syntax, instead of Parrot intermediate representation
(PIR), an assembly language
. Rakudo Perl uses several different programming languages to implement the Perl 6 specification.
The monthly releases are synchronized with the monthly releases of Parrot, but occurring two days later so that Rakudo may implement changes necessitated by Parrot. Rakudo Perl #14 was released in February 2009, codenamed Vienna after the Perl mongers
group that had sponsored one of its developers since April 2008. Subsequent releases have used codenames based on Perl mongers groups; the most recent release as of October 2011, #45, is codenamed Houston.
The first major release of a distribution of both compiler and modules (named "Rakudo *" or "Rakudo Star") was released on July 29, 2010. After the January 2011 release, subsequent releases will be made every three months. The most recent release of Rakudo Star was made on July 21, 2011.
. "Rakudo" is short for "Rakuda-dō" (with a long 'o'; 駱駝道), which is Japanese for "Way of the Camel". "Rakudo" (with a short 'o'; 楽土) also means "paradise" in Japanese.
The term "Rakudo Perl" was also chosen to distinguish between the name of a language implementation ("Rakudo") from the name of the language specification ("Perl 6"). To understand why, one must understand that Perl 6 is a specification and any implementation (Perl 6 Compilers) that passes the official test suite could call itself “Perl 6”. There are currently several implementations at various levels of maturity.
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
that implements the Perl 6
Perl 6
Perl 6 is a major revision to the Perl programming language. It is still in development, as a specification from which several interpreter and compiler implementations are being written. It is introducing elements of many modern and historical languages. Perl 6 is intended to have many...
specification and runs on the Parrot virtual machine
Parrot virtual machine
Parrot is a register-based process virtual machine designed to run dynamic languages efficiently. It uses just-in-time compilation for speed to reduce the interpretation overhead. It is currently possible to compile Parrot assembly language and PIR to Parrot bytecode and execute it...
. Rakudo Perl is currently in development
Software development
Software development is the development of a software product...
.
Originally developed within the Parrot project, its source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
repository was split from that project in February 2009 so that it could be developed independently, though at that time there were still many dependencies. One goal is to rewrite methods
Method (computer science)
In object-oriented programming, a method is a subroutine associated with a class. Methods define the behavior to be exhibited by instances of the associated class at program run time...
using higher-level Perl 6 syntax, instead of Parrot intermediate representation
Parrot intermediate representation
The Parrot intermediate representation , previously called Intermediate code , is one of the two assembly languages for the Parrot virtual machine. The other is Parrot assembly language or PASM...
(PIR), an assembly language
Assembly language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other programmable devices. It implements a symbolic representation of the machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture...
. Rakudo Perl uses several different programming languages to implement the Perl 6 specification.
The monthly releases are synchronized with the monthly releases of Parrot, but occurring two days later so that Rakudo may implement changes necessitated by Parrot. Rakudo Perl #14 was released in February 2009, codenamed Vienna after the Perl mongers
Perl Mongers
Perl Mongers is part of The Perl Foundation and provides services to user groups for the Perl programming language.Perl Mongers was created in 1998 as a stand-alone organization by brian d foy who formed the first Perl users group, the New York Perl Mongers, or NY.pm, in 1997 at the First O'Reilly...
group that had sponsored one of its developers since April 2008. Subsequent releases have used codenames based on Perl mongers groups; the most recent release as of October 2011, #45, is codenamed Houston.
The first major release of a distribution of both compiler and modules (named "Rakudo *" or "Rakudo Star") was released on July 29, 2010. After the January 2011 release, subsequent releases will be made every three months. The most recent release of Rakudo Star was made on July 21, 2011.
Name
The name "Rakudo" for the Perl 6 on Parrot compiler was first suggested by Damian ConwayDamian Conway
Damian Conway is a prominent member of the Perl community, a proponent of object-oriented programming, and the author of several books. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University....
. "Rakudo" is short for "Rakuda-dō" (with a long 'o'; 駱駝道), which is Japanese for "Way of the Camel". "Rakudo" (with a short 'o'; 楽土) also means "paradise" in Japanese.
The term "Rakudo Perl" was also chosen to distinguish between the name of a language implementation ("Rakudo") from the name of the language specification ("Perl 6"). To understand why, one must understand that Perl 6 is a specification and any implementation (Perl 6 Compilers) that passes the official test suite could call itself “Perl 6”. There are currently several implementations at various levels of maturity.
External links
- Rakudo Perl website
- Rakudo Perl git repository