http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=561253


in reply to Perl is dying

Is Perl "less popuplar" than it used to be ... perhaps. So what? That does not mean that it is dying anymore than the fact that fewer people read books these days means that soon no one will read books. Instead of obsessing about meaningless "market share" "statistics", just answer two questions: what other language has as vibrant and active an online community as perlmonks? and what other language has as large and diverse a repository of modules and libraries as CPAN?

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Re^2: Perl is dying
by jhourcle (Prior) on Jul 14, 2006 at 18:46 UTC
    Is Perl "less popuplar" than it used to be ... perhaps. So what?

    Some would argue it's a benefit. Many people in technology are obsessed with the bleeding edge -- the ones who rush to learn a new language, so they can assert their superiority over everyone else, or just because they like learning.

    That's fine -- there are always going to be people like that, and for the most part, they're going to quickly complain, and/or jump ship to whatever next new language comes along. Why? Because they're adopting too early in the hype cycle.

    I'd personally say that Perl is comfortably in the 'Plataeu of Productivity'. It's well established, its shortcomings are known, and we can set realistic expectations on projects written in it.

    There's always going to be the group of language nomads -- they can't settle on a language, because they're just never happy. They're the ones pushing Ruby now ... maybe they were last on Python, or Java, or whatever else. In some ways, every good programmer should learn experiment with other languages -- see what the alternate tools are that are out there, so they can make an informed decision about their language choices.

    I personally like a language where there are a good number of experts to refer questions to, rather than watching a community of newbies struggle along in the dark as they all try to implement the same things with varying degrees of success.

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Re^2: Perl is dying
by ww (Archbishop) on Jul 14, 2006 at 16:50 UTC
    Amen to jZed ... with one small caveat re 'meaningless "market share" "statistics"' ... which I believe should read 'meaningless "market share statistics assertions, unsupported by data"' or, perhaps, 'assertions of questionable reliability.'

    And likewise, "amen" (with only minor kvetches) to prasadbabu , nimdokk, jdporter, eric256 and others above...

    (Implication of the following is likewise unsupported by data, I concede:)

    Someone once observed that rumors of his death were greatly exagerated.

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Re^2: Perl is dying
by Argel (Prior) on Jul 18, 2006 at 23:10 UTC
    Is Perl "less popuplar" than it used to be ... perhaps. So what?

    As a counterpoint, if I want to script Poser (a 3D graphics app I own) I have to use Python. If I want to mod Civilization IV then again, Python is required. And even games that do not advertise the ability to mod are using Python, such as the second Freedom Force game. So quite frankly, I think Perl's reputation does matter. The less popular it becomes then apparently the more likely I am going to feel pressured to learn Python.

    And I think it goes without saying that there are ramifications for those of us who use it to help make a living. If nothing else, if it is considered "old school" then it could become a liability on a resume. For sysadmins I seriously doubt it has reached that point. On the other hand, I think it's a lot coser with PHP vs. Perl. I mean, I think I'd rather have PHP on my resume today if I was appplying for a web development position. [ Sheds tear. :( ]

    -- Argel

    Update:Fixed typos/grammar

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