Perl needs to be thought of as a language for doing MS Windows development,
including the gui parts.
(The other possibility is as a browser applet development language -- but
that is, by all indications, NOT going to happen...)
Unless and until that paradigmatic shift occurs, Perl won't be considered
a mainstream language. It pains me to have to say it, but it's true.
Perhaps Gtk is the critical link here -- for better and for worse.
--
Another factor, IMO, is that no one sells perl modules. What little
perl is being sold is in the form of canned apps. Flipping through
the trade glossies, I see lots of adds for Java beans, C++ libs,
COM components, data blades, etc. These create the background
radiation in the PHB's viewport: "Java is real because I see a lot
of people selling java-based solutions!" And the ads are there
because someone has to sell product. This puts free software at
a huge disadvantage.
Now here's a trick. Many (all?) trade zines include product press
releases for next to nothing. The Perl marketing engine should
devote itself to (among other things) writing press releases
-- even if very little of what they say is actually new.
Another example: feature articles. Dr. Dobb's Journal this month
has Yet Another Article on Rebol, which happens to say very little
new about the language. It's essentially a sales piece.
--
John Porter
Perl is my bitch.
[Thanks for the tip, Elaine!]
