SPUG: Perl PR (warning: groaner)

[Meryll Larkin]

6/15/02

When I have a brand new for loop,
With my dollar signs all acurl,
And the warning pager is empty,
I enjoy scripting in Perl;

Let's browse around though CPAN,
Just to give a new class a whirl,
Or ppm search the command line,
I enjoy coding in Perl;

I can parse files and logs for hours,
Keeping watch on the system's pace,
with regex or split to aid me,
...ignoring or specifying case;

Use strict, after she-bang, #!
Use cgi to get my $url;
or mod_perl, courtesy TMTOWTDI
I enjoy programming Perl.

******  Opinion ahead *******

I think it's not so much that empoyers don't value Perl as that in this
economy one programming language for any employee is not enough.  

I think projects (especially large projects) NEED the flexibility of
being able to take advantage of the strengths of different languages. 
Perl is an excellent glue language.  But packaging ability and speed
(under certain conditions) may make Java a better choice for some
pieces of a project.  This isn't from my own experience, but second
hand:  I worked in a Java shop - Java was chosen because of browser
platform independence and because the clients buying the product would
be less likely to tamper with the code.  Perl, by its very nature,
encourages tampering (which is one reason why I adore it).

I can't imagine that any Sys Admin (particularly on a Unix/Linux
platform) would not want Perl in her toolbox - but it wouldn't be the
ONLY tool.

********  And that's my 2 cents  ******

Meryll
 


--- Chris Kohout <chris at wildsky.com> wrote:
> Like others in this list, I've not found much Perl work in the 
> Seattle area.  .NET and Java seem to be dominating the field.  I've 
> been wondering why. Obviously, it's a Microsoft town, so the rise of 
> .NET and ASP make sense.  But why has Java so eclipsed Perl here?
> 
> Is this due to a lack of good PR for Perl?  Seems like the only time 
> I hear about Perl here is when some company is switching their old 
> Perl code for a new <fill in the blank> system.
> 
> Despite the obvious technical goodness of Perl, maybe it's not being 
> sold enough to corporate management?
> 
> Chris
> 
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