use Perl

• Yep (Score:2)

  by jdavidb (1361)

  mod_perl isn't getting web developers because it isn't a web application framework. PHP is.

  Perl is like Lisp. We have the base language, on which we write the language in which we will write our program. I'm sure people who truly grok Lisp and all of Paul Graham's stuff will say Perl doesn't completely fulfill this, but I think it does partially. We create, at least, a hybrid language that consists of Perl + whatever modules we deem necessary.

  Look at the way everyone writes their own templating sys

  --
  J. David works really hard, has a passion for writing good software, and knows many of the world's best Perl programmers
  • Re:Yep (Score:1)

    by jjohn (22)

    But to me it makes no difference if Perl captures the PHP market or not. (I suspect it's no big deal to you, either.)

    You're right. I don't care all that much about Perl in the web space specifically, but I'd like to see Perl capture the general application development market. Perl replacing VB (via .NET) is a beautiful dream.

    I doubt it will happen though. Still, Perl has been a huge influence on so many of the modern languages. It's humbling.
    • Re:Yep (Score:2)

      by ziggy (25) on 2004.09.12 13:23 (#34252) Journal

      Still, Perl has been a huge influence on so many of the modern languages. It's humbling.

      Yep. And that's why it's totally irrelevant Perl will or will not see widespread use for general application development. You can focus on the near horizon -- getting Perl used in the mainstream -- or you can focus on the far horizon -- getting the features and principles behind Perl adopted by the mainstream.

      Ask yourself if the programs you write today are better than the programs you wrote five or ten years ago. Chances are they are much better, due to a whole constellation of factors -- garbage collection, platform independance, reusable components, better modules, better interfaces, bringing more skill to bear on the problem and so on. So, in that respect, Perl has already succeeded because the ideas it brings to the discussion about programming language design are being adopted in the mainstream (albeit through Java and C#.)

      Ten years ago, we were still fighting the battle to use "interpreters", and not fully understanding the value of platform independence. Sun adopted those issues and brought them into the mainstream. But there are a lot of other ideas in Perl that have yet to reach mainstream acceptance, like huffman coding in interfaces, DWIMmery, generic objects, generic programming and unrestricted object models.

      So, in some sense, Perl will capture the general application market space eventually. It probably will be a win-by-proxy with some language that descends from Perl, and not Perl itself. But the ideas will win nonetheless, when the values Perl brings to the table are more widely accepted by the mainstream.

      Reply to This

      Parent