After skimming the article at the heart of the Slashdot discussion I think there are some reasons for the popularity of Perl-alternatives:
a) Large corporations have supported some languages or standardized on them (Sun/Java, Apple/Objective-C). b) Some languages are hot because of a perceived low learning curve, widespread framework availability and adoption (JavaScript, frameworks like Mootools, JQuery, et. al.) c) In cases where you would think Perl would be a natural choice Bash seems easier in some cases, "people are opting for the simplicity and portability of Bash rather than Perl in these cases..." Prospective Strategies: A: Powerhouse Corporate Endorsement Our beloved computing industry has companies like Apple and Google at the forefront and they are both decidedly un-Perl-friendly. But who would have ever thought that these companies would be where they are today ten years ago? Certainly not me, that's for sure. My guess here is that, like everything in computing, sooner or later the computing market is going to shift again. Perhaps rather than computers or cell phones we will all start buying robots or something. Let's look into the future of computing, whatever is coming *after* this round, to become the defacto language. B: Slash Thine Learning Curve I'm all for building a smaller, more compact, version of Perl that is as absurdly restrictive as other languages. We can call it LockBox Perl or Nope-You-Can't-Do-That-Anymore Perl. Whatever. (There used to be something like this -- EmbPerl or something but I think it died because the Perl community didn't like it.) Allow for some special instruction at the top of scripts that allows you do actually use Perl instead of the locked-down version. That way corporations can simply say -- 'for project X you CANNOT use the cool unlock instruction.' Once Perl is in use it becomes easier to sell them onto more advanced features/syntax. C: Wait a Minute There... Here is where I think a marketing campaign would work. I think there is growth in the Linux user base and folks who want to experiment with the 'coolness' of Linux will inevitably experiment with scripting. The certification examinations for Linux all center on Bash, so it is no wonder that it is rising in popularity. If someone took the time to analyze this they might find the Bash adoption curve mimicking that of Linux adoption or perhaps Linux certification attempts. If this is correct then a good strategy might be to steer people toward trying Perl while they are banging away at the console. Perl was originally built to beat out scripting alternatives so this is fairly logical. On Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 2:10 AM, Johan Vromans <jvrom...@squirrel.nl> wrote: > > http://developers.slashdot.org/story/13/01/29/0235220/perls-glory-days-are-behind-it-but-it-isnt-going-anywhere > > We know we suck at marketing, but is there anything we are going to do > about it? > > -- Johan > --
