Re: Tab stops in perl mode broken?

["Johnny L. Wales" <johnny@mail.booksys.com>]

> [...] Emacs' default perl-mode and indentation problems
> 
> Try using cperl-mode, rather than perl-mode.  It's a much
> improved perl mode.  It certainly handles the case you mention
> fine in my emacs version.

How do I set that mode?
Why are there two perl modes? Why not just one?
Why is the broken perl mode the default? Why not make the good one the
default?

> > Further, is there some command like:
> > M-x when-i-say-tab-i-mean-tab-damn-it
> 
> You can always to C-q TAB to insert a literal tab.  Depending on
> programming modes, you have to find the relevant variable to get
> them not to do syntax-driven indentaton.

Well, what I'd actually like from an editor would be partial syntax-driven
inedentation. That is, hitting tab once puts the tabs where emacs thinks
they outght to be, and subsequent tab requests bump everything over one
tab. I'd also love it if there was *never* a time when I hit a button and
nothing happens. 

> > that will make emacs ALWAYS add a tab when I hit the tab button, whether
> > it seems reasonable to emacs or not? I've also yet to be able to find an
> > easy way to set tab width without editing a configuration file..?
> 
> M-x customize-variable RET tab-stop-list RET
> 
> If you change this and then save your changes, tab-stop-list
> will be set.

And I'll have to do this on every host, right? There's no way to have a
single emacs config file to serve a whole network?

--Me