Jargon is good. It’s how experts communicate with each other. It is, however, an obstacle to the non-expert wishing to become an expert. It’s why doctors go through years of pre-med before entering medical school. At some point early in their education, someone had to define for them what a uvula is, so they can then use the term correctly.

I have no wish to abolish jargon. I quite like it, in fact. I’m not going to stop using the words “tag” and “element” simply because some people don’t know the difference between them. They’re the right words to use.

One must define terms before using them. If you’re quite certain your audience is already up to speed on the terminology, you can skip the definitions. “Advanced books, articles and tutorials must assume prior knowledge to avoid rehashing the basics.” That’s why those resources are advanced, and hence not for beginners. But where does the beginner turn for guidance? Who will explain what all this is about? My session is aimed at those people.

Randal, my anecdote about “Learning Perl” was my own failing. Your book was too advanced for me, and that’s fine because I was not your intended audience. I have since learned what looping through an array is because I found other resources that were more my speed. So now, should I ever wish to return to learning Perl, I’d probably return to “Learning Perl.”

I’m here because you mentioned “Learning Perl” (which I wrote). Specifically, you understood that the book was targeted at programmers, not non-programmers. I can assure you that the intended audience knew what an array is, and a loop, and that’s why there’s no “bridging” of those words into language that you understood. I didn’t (and perhaps couldn’t anymore) write an explanation of “what is an array, and how do I use it?”, because there’s a large enough audience of existing programmers to make the book worthwhile even without adding the fifty extra pages it would have taken to teach the material to non-programmers, such as you, apparently.

There ARE books on Perl for the non-programmer. I just didn’t write one of them. Don’t try to get the industry to stop using jargon though: the jargon terms have a precise meaning for those who need to communicate without including all the explanation and context each time. That’s a valid use for jargon. It’s not just to be different or exclusive: it’s about being precise and optimal.