use Perl

• Perl v. Python (Score:2)

  by ziggy (25)

  I took a brief gander at the Perl [torkington.com] and Python [blosxom.com] versions in that order.

  My first impression, after reading each in the browser for about a second each:

  • The Perl version starts with a nice long comment that describes WTF this script does.
  • The Python version starts out with gobs of plaintext
  • Oh, wait, it's not python code
  • Oh, wait, it starts out with """
  • Oh, wait, that's a triple-quoted strong. Where does it end?
  • Oh, wait, the python program starts out with pretty much the same commentary as the Perl program
  • Re:Perl v. Python (Score:2)

    by dws (341)

    I found the Python """ idiom to be no harder to get used to than HEREDOCs.
    • Re:Perl v. Python (Score:2)

      by ziggy (25) on 2003.09.03 17:41 (#23819) Journal

      ...but we don't use HEREDOCs for block comments.

      Reply to This

      Parent

      • Re:Perl v. Python (Score:2)

        by dws (341)

        You've never seen anyone use a HEREDOC for a block comment? You've lived a sheltered life.

        That particular block comment is special. Python associates it with the class object as a special documentation string (__doc__, iirc).