> I have no significant problems with Python, per se, but one of our
> developers is doing desktop client development work in Python and we may
> be switching a server, currently written in Perl, to Python. In general,
> there seems to be a bit of a Python Good, Perl Bad movement starting here
> at work.
>
> We have plenty of Perl code lying around so it's not like we'll stop using
> Perl and I have no problem learning Python, but if things keep going in
> their current direction, there are going to be discussions about whether
> or not all of our future development should be in Python. The desktop
> developer loathes Perl with a passion and would love to see it go away.
>
> Does anyone know Python well enough to offer comments about whether or not
> this is a reasonable move? I *love* Perl and don't want to toss it out of
> my company's toolbox.
Much of it boils down to a religious war. People who like
Python tend to view the world in terms of their way being
right -- it sort of goes with the language. Perl leaves
most of the decisions on how to do things up to the developer,
and tends to attract people with less rigid outlooks on how
to program.
It managers like the look of Python in many cases because they
like forcing people to program in a certian way; it gives them
a feeling that they know how things are being done. Since Perl
does leave quite a bit up to the programmer standards for
programming pratices actually have to be managed.
My main reasons for disliking Python are its editor dependence
(people moving between emacs and vi, for example, can break
the code) and the odd mixture of low-level data types in a
high-level language.
--
Steven Lembark 2930 W. Palmer
Workhorse Computing Chicago, IL 60647
+1 800 762 1582
