The reason for Perl's existence.

[zachogden]

Does Perl have a place in the market anymore, with superior language like Python and PHP and such available? I mean, I'm the first poster in this forum in months!

[little birdy]

i think it's still a useful tool for some people, because it's better than sed or awk, but for developing programs and web applications i'd probably go with python and php, respectively. (as much as i like perl :()

[iDxMan]

There's always a need for duct tape.

-r

[Whiteknight]

It's hard to say that one language is better then another, especially in the race of Perl vs Python. Considering the languages have comparable strengths and weaknesses, it usually comes down to the programmer to determine what language to write in.

I personally prefer Perl, and I use it for most of my daily needs. However, when i want to do a big project, I might go to java, or (if speed is a big concern) C.

[iDxMan]

Another question might be: "what market?" (..and I certainly wouldn't base perl's appeal on the lack of activity in this forum..)

I mainly use perl for sys admin and various quick summary/data conversion scripts. Why not python? I don't know python and while its certainly possible that I might prefer it once I become proficient, I don't have the time right now.

Plus, perl is already installed on all our Unix, Linux and FreeBSD servers and there's a very good chance that the next programmer/sys admin will also know perl. (no, these aren't the best reasons, but that's what happens in the real world) So at this point there's little benefit of installing python.


-r

[Whiteknight]

exactly, why bother learning python when you've already taken the time to learn perl and all it's intricacies, and you've installed perl already, and written a large amount of material in perl that needs to be maintained or expanded? I know those arent the best reasons either, but they do come into consideration.

although, i have installed python, and i have started learning it, but frankly i prefer perl still.