Jayce^ wrote:
It's the classic flame against Perl. It's flexible, so therefore, it must be messy. Basically Perl code is a reflection of the developer.
I think any code is the reflection of the programmer(s). I've have been coding as a regular job or on the side for over 25 years. Started in Fortran 77, Cobol, Pascal RPG II, and yes even did a bit of card punch. No matter the language, you will find zealots as well as poor excuses for programmers.
Basically, different languages not only have different strengths for different situations, but their whole composition has strengths that make it better for different people. You see people here have mentioned how easy and great python is for reading (something they seem to mention endlessly), and yet when I was choosing between Perl and Python to learn way back in the day, I absolutely found Perl more readable. Why? because it fits me better. Python for some, Perl for others, use the one that is easier for you. For me, Python seemed to bring all the things I didn't like about Java to a scripting language, without the good features.
I found PERL to be highly readable and easy to grasp it's TIMTOWTDI concept. I like the language a lot, but more so the philosophy behind it. However, I know some of the core folks involved in the Ruby on Rail project, I like the direction of that language as well. If I could I'd list all the ones I enjoy, but these two top my list at the current time, in regards to enjoyment.
Mister Ed /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
