One more comment -- I just went to a rather boring bioinformatics presentation. "What can an Engineer do in the field of Bioinformatics". These guys were pro-java and the guy uttered a comment once about "crap Perl scripts", so I walked out towards the end of things. I think these folks would say the same thing about other cool languages like lisp, etc. They allow you to shoot yourself in the foot, but they also allow you to do incredible things.

What folks need to realize is that bad software design is possible in all languages -- and that shooting oneself in the foot is possible in all languages.

I also think I just lost an interview for a replacement job, due to my love of Perl -- this is probably the sign the place wasn't right for me -- he said they were rewriting a perl driven interface in JSP (with an ugly look on his face when he said Perl) and I asked him why. He also asked about Perl experience earlier and I gave him a pretty good discourse on why I enjoyed functional programming and mixing styles -- plus the inherant flexibility in the language.

I think some of this myth comes from the fact that Perl, in some ways like VB, has a low barrier to entry, so often you get codes who do not have a strong software design ethic. Most folks do.

The proper analogy for me reminds me something of LEGO's... A 4 year old can play with legos, but he's not going to be able to create that Mount Rushmore the master builders made (and way off-topic, but for those in Orlando, check out the Lego Store on the Disney property...AWESOME and complete with lego sea serpents in the Lake!)

So we pay for what the inexperienced do. Is that so bad? No, I say it's really a plus. We have a wide array of users, and there are various stages in the evolution of a Perl programmer. There are functions I've written that I now look back on and smile...looking at how I once thought I was good and what I wrote then...

Myth or no myth, the accusers of other languages need to realize that in all languages, shooting oneself in the foot is equally easy. It's just that the bullet wound may not be immediately obvious in all of them.