Re: Why learn Perl?

[wjw]

I assume that your question might be restated as "What is/are the compelling reason(s) for using Perl.

There are a lot of different answers, probably as many as there are Perl users. There are probably as many reasons not to use Perl, as many as there are folks who tried it and did not like it.

Many of the most compelling reasons have already been mentioned:

• Huge set of libraries which simplify routine tasks
• Great support (ie perlmonks.org)
• Cross platform
• Very well documented
• Active, it is still being developed/improved upon

Just to reiterate a few.

For me, it is simply a beautiful language. I can write code which works very quickly, get help when I need it, and do things my own way. That last is most important to me. I write code for my own use now days, so don't really have to fit into a 'norm'. While best practices are all well and fine, I frankly have a hard time reading others code when it deviates too far from what I have set up as my own standard. So being able to write in a way which maximizes my understanding of what the end result is and how I got there is important to me. There are few languages (that I have encountered) which are as flexible in this regard as Perl is.

I hope that you find it both productive and enjoyable as you explore the language and meet the folks who make use of it.

Best of luck to you!