A reader writes: "SAP has released full source of their sapdb sql database system under the GPL. It can be found at http://www.sap.com/solutions/technology/sapdb/deve lop/dev_sources.htm It's probably the most complete free database system available right now, with much more features than interbase, mysql or postgresql. The codebase seems to be rather old and is written in a mix of Pascal and C. It contains interfaces to Perl and various languages."

For those inundated with data -- numbers, names, dates, temperatures, colors, seismographic sensor output, voting records(!), or anything else -- the paltry concerns of user interface may be less important than the assurance that they can make something useful from all that stuff. Data munger extraordinaire chromatic has again delivered his insightful dissection of a programming book aimed at people with Perl knowledge and a lot of data to wade through, and No, it's not from O'Reilly. Maybe it's for you.

Gather round kids and let me tell you a story. A story of "Convergence": a nasty buzzword many of us have dreampt of in hot lusty dreams that we wouldn't admit to our mothers. The dream is the borged media box: combining the functionality of your Tivo, your MP3 Box, DVD Player, CD Player, and so much more. It's not here yet despite lots of trying, but its getting closer.

Carnage4Life asks: "After continually being surprised by the evolution of various programming languages (the most recent occurances being the change in meaning of the protected keyword in Java, as well as the addition of the restricted keyword in C) I've decided that I wish to get involved in the standards process for a variety of languages. This has proven to be easier said than done. So how does one get involved in the standards process for a particular language, be it C#, Javascript, Perl, C++, Java, C, Python, or any other language? I know each of these languages probably has a different process so please feel free simply to point out how to get involved in the languages you have knowledge about." Interesting question, but I think the best advice to fall back on is: "ask around". Most compilers and interpreters at least have the author's email address or a mailing list where these can be directed. With that said, has anyone done this for a specific language? If so, please tell us of your experiences.

Sean writes "Take a look at this comparison of Server-side scripting languages. The article explains how PHP scripts, Perl CGIs, and Java servlets work. It can help you decide whether to use PHP scripts, Perl CGIs, or Java servlets for your next Web development project. It also covers the issues that separate the three languages and provides all the source to test their differences." Right tool, right situation. That's all I have to say.

PapaZit asks: "Laptop and home users don't alway have access to a network. There are many tasks that can be done off-line, but require an occasional network connection (reading and responding to email, for example). In the Free Unix front, there has been some work in this direction, but it hasn't made it anywhere outside of Windows. Coda has made it possible for me to work with centralized files offline, and I have some ugly scripts involving perl, fetchmail, and procmail that handle email, but I wouldn't inflict them on others. An OS with automated "Network indifference" seems like it would be useful to both novice users and power users, and it's the sort of thing that could make these alternative operating systems more appealing to the masses. Are there any efforts in this direction that could use support or testers? Are people waiting until networking becomes so ubiquitous that the problem goes away?"

Here you go - answers to your questions for Guido van Rossum about Python, its future, licensing hassles with the Free Software Foundation, and other neat stuff. Thanks, Guido!

Black Perl asks: "I am planning a home automation (HA) system for a new yet-to-be-built house, and would like to have in-wall touchscreens in key areas around the house. However, the touchscreens in current HA products have ugly interfaces. Being a web developer, I know I could do a much better job if these ran web browsers in kiosk mode. Problem is, how can I accomplish that? Embed a PC in the wall next to the screen? Are there ways to extend video+input cables down to a rack in the basement? Any other ideas?" Interesting idea, and more aesthetically pleasing than the more traditional alternatives. Maybe some of the solutions, mentioned in this earlier question on LCD screens, may be a step in the right direction.

While Ruby isn't new, it's one scripting-and-everything else language which has yet to break out (in the U.S. at least) the way Perl and Python have. Chromatic may help buck that non-trend -- he says that Ruby is one polished gem of a language, and below he introduces a book on Ruby that he compares in importance with the O'Reilly Camel book.

Updates and revisions for you on various and sundry stories you've seen here recently, from Parrot to Linux on handhelds to the recent judgement against MP3.com and more. Read on below to find them.

pudge writes: "The Perl Journal is back in the hands of Jon Orwant, after a sorrowful chapter in the hands of EarthWeb. No details available yet, just the good news. He is now accepting article proposals for future issues, and Issue #20 will be printed and mailed soon." It's cool to see something decent being revived in a month when it seems like many companies are either failing or scaling back.

Pudge tells me that perl 5.6.1 is released. Tell your boss you won't get any work done today, you have to, er, upgrade your personal knowledgebase of evolving regularly expressional technology. Then test every one of the bugfixes, like ""a\nxb\n" =~ /(?!\A)x/m". Pick your favorite new feature or bugfix from the announcement and tell us about it.

raelity writes "Larry Wall provides some insight into the design of Perl 6 on www.perl.com. "People get scared when they hear the word Apocalypse, but here I mean it in the good sense: a Revealing. An Apocalypse is supposed to reveal good news to good people. (And if it also happens to reveal bad news to bad people, so be it. Just don't be bad.) What I will be revealing in these columns will be the design of Perl 6. Or more accurately, the beginnings of that design, since the design process will certainly continue after I've had my initial say in the matter." " This is a really interesting article and worth reading if you're at all into Perl. Full of Wallisms, entertaining and insightful.

chipmunk writes "My prayers have been answered! Larry and Guido have joined forces to produce Parrot, what will surely become the best language ever written. The power of Perl and the sanity of Python. The Py3K and Perl 6 development are merging, with Jeremy Hylton and Dan Sugalski as joint development leads. Read more in the press release on use Perl;, and see a joint interview on perl.com!"

It's about time. It's like the right brain and left brain are working together, at long last. O'Reilly has already inked a deal to publish Programming Parrot, and Yet Another Society is set to merge with the recently launched Python Software Foundation. Both Guido and Larry will be working for ActiveState.

Nasko asks: "We use a cable modem to connect our 29 PC's in the LAN to the Internet. I'm routing with Windows 2000 Professional and WinRoute. I've successfully set up a MRTG to show me the traffic for the 2 LAN interfaces in the routing machine, but couldn't find any way to get reports for the in/out traffic per local IP address. Most of the PC's are running under Windows 98 so I can't (at least i I don't think so) set up SNMP agents on them - I'll appreciate any help concerning filtering out the SNMP info from the routing machine coming from/going to a specific local interface - in fact i'm not sure if there's a way to filter that on the 'Target' line of a MRTG .CFG file. Alternatively, where I can find IP Accounting software for Windows 2000 so that I can 'feed' my MRTG, by using Perl to provide the 2 needed values?"

KellyM writes "'I've spent the last three days fixing compile-time bugs with xMach, and I'm currently testing using a copy of VMware running FreeBSD. The code compiled so cleanly that a stable release was inevitable, allowing me to finally start doing some of the new innovative work I dreamed up years ago, when my SPARC (since dead due to a battery issue) glowed with warmth onto me, and inspired me to create. Who knows -- we might make something useful out of xMach yet. It's certainly come a long way from seed to sprout; as its stalk strengthens, I hope to help it blossom into the full beauty of the great scheme hatched years ago. '"

jmallett writes: "xMach, the microkernel BSD Operating System, first made an announcement on Daily DaemonNews stating that there were some new source and binary snapshots available. Also, OsOpinion has an article I wrote about my experiences so far, entitled 'Giving Birth to xMach'. Development of xMach currently is limited to the microkernel and its servers, but a userland (based on that from the good people at OpenBSD) will be worked on shortly. Some of the primary focuses on xMach are data storage, security, and non-bloat."

deran9ed writes ""People can get quite emotional about Python, in a way they rarely get about software," says van Rossum, who is now director of Python Labs at Digital Creations. In this question and answer interview, he explains why Python deserves such loyalty, when it is better to use Python than Perl, and why increasing numbers of business applications developers will be using Python for years to come. THe full article is on SearchEnterpriseLinux"

Tonight: Reactions and reductions of previous Slashdot appearances, including but not limited to: in-dash video gaming for the less upwardly mobile; a CSS descrambler you could scratch as a crib onto the side of your #2 pencil; and more on the engineers vs. scientists brouhaha. Enjoy!

TheCorporal asks: "Our company has come to the point in our development where we feel it is time for a recode. We are rewriting code for a large multiplayer, browser/text, turn based strategy game (Like Utopia), and would like to know the best language solution in terms of speed. A Rapid development platform would be nice, but most important is the speed of execution." There's more below, but the question is simple, which language is the swift hare of the net, and which one is the toiling tortoise, and where do the others fall, in between.