From: gnu@gnu.org
Subject: Free Software Award given to Larry Wall
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998 02:08:38 -0400

Larry Wall won the Free Software Foundation Award for the Advancement
of Free Software for his many contributions to the advancement of
freely distributed software, most notably Perl, a robust scripting
language for sophisticated text manipulation and system management.
His other widely-used programs include rn (news reader), patch
(development and distribution tool), metaconfig (a program that writes
Configure scripts), and the Warp space-war game.
  "... Perl, a tool that takes the UNIX ideas of flexibility and
portability further than almost any program before it. Perl is
probably the most powerful and widely applicable GNU program."
  "Larry Wall has always promoted keeping his implementations free for
all to study, enhance, and build on, without restrictions, and the
freedom for all to benefit in whatever ways they can from his
products."