Chosing the appropriate algorithm can make orders of magnitude of difference in execution time. There are many problems where the appropriate algorithm for a small data set is inappropriate for a large data set, for example.
Perl does, indeed, provide many ways to implement something, and it does so compactly. Some may call this 'cryptic', but inconsiderate programmers can make anything look cryptic in any language. If the appropriate solution is difficult to present, this is no reason not to use it: this is a reason to take considerable pains in documenting the matter - otherwise some well-meaning person will come along and re-code it to the detriment of the original design. I have worked with most structured languages since Algol, and I find Perl a 'rich' language, in that solutions which would formerly require the development of an appropriate library can be directly implemented in a few lines. When developing in other languages, for want of time one would implement the simplest solution - one which avoids the development of large libraries - while prototyping, while proving feasability: the solutions thus chosen would be inappropriate for the requirement, and would be inefficient. Only later in the life cycle would the 'appropriate' solutions be implemented, and then only where profiling had shown they were essential, to minimise cost. In Perl, the 'appropriate' solution is near at hand, because it can be immediately implemented. However, so are many other solutions which may be more or less suitable. For the naive programmer, it is difficult to chose correctly from this wealth, and he or she will most likely chose the solution which he or she understands best. For the expert, the difficulty is to understand when others will find the solution 'cryptic', and thus where special care is required in documenting a) the chosen solution and b) its implementation. I hold no special torch for Perl, or any other language, but suspect that Perl plus judicious use of Inline::LanguageOfYourChoice will serve most purposes for the next decade or so. You ask whether '... it is a limitation when working on larger programs'. If the proper analysis and design has taken place, I would be happier to implement in Perl than in Java, but only as a general rule. If I knew that the appropriate libraries in java were better than the corresponding modules in Perl, this would easily sway the balance, and the same goes for other languages. I would not recommend a perl vs java debate: why pick on java? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maciejewski, Thomas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'Bob Showalter'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 7:04 PM Subject: RE: C vs. Perl > not to get flamed here but one of the reasons I dont like perl is that there > are sometimes too many ways to do something ... and all of them are fairly > cryptic ... > people having different coding styles can really confuse the hell out of > someone else that is trying to do some work with the code. > > While many may think that this is strong point of perl I see it as a > limitation when working on larger programs. opinions? > > can someone post the main debate points for perl vs java for web development > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Bob Showalter [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 1:58 PM > To: Maciejewski, Thomas > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: C vs. Perl > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Maciejewski, Thomas [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > > Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 1:44 PM > > To: 'Brett W. McCoy'; Agustin Rivera > > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: RE: C vs. Perl > > > > > > how about all of the issues involved with spawning off processes ... > > > > in java servlets I know this is handled because the servlet is always > > running ... > > The OP said he was using mod_perl, so he shouldn't be creating > separate processes for each request. > > > > > you may end up with a more efficient system and easier to > > debug code and all > > of the other benifits from OO ... pretty much all around better by > > re-writing in java ... rather than c > > All of which benefits are available in Perl as well... > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > This message is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the designated recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. 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