I think the reason why PHP is used more and more much than Perl is that for CGI related programs it is much simpler to use than perl. For example it has a set of libraries for the most used functions in a CGI program, for example SSL support, a module for reading and creating PDF files, modules for accessing some payments operators for shopping carts, etc. Those modules can be created in perl, but even if some of those modules exists for perl, they don't work very well. I've tried to use the modules for creating a PDF document under Windows, but with no success. It is pretty hard to install some of the perl modules under Windows because most of them need to be compiled, need a compiler to be installed, etc.
With PHP it is much simpler to work and I can see this even though I don't know PHP at all.... yet.
The motivation for new perl learners is not very big because most of the jobs can be found in PHP/ASP and only after that in perl/Cold Fusion.
I hope Perl 6 will have much more standard modules and the modules from CPAN will be able to be installed without compiling them with a local compiler. We should keep in mind that even if the most web servers are running under Unix/Linux, most computer users and possibly web developers are working under Windows and the CPAN modules should be all compatible with Windows also, and not only with Linux.
This is the same kind of canned response that is the reason why this is a flame war topic and was met with such jest immediately after being asked.
1) Still not possible to prove that PHP is used more than Perl, which also makes it impossible to prove it isn't....
2) All of the modules you stated exist for PHP, exist for Perl, many of them probably before those for PHP were developed. CPAN is the envy of all languages, ask a Java developer familar with Perl sometime about how they feel about CPAN...
3) What modules have you used that didn't work very well? Ignorance with respect to a module's interface does not prove poor performance. Most modules that I have encountered have all worked as they claimed and solved the goals' that they were designed for.
4) ActiveState has a very good list of modules available in a binary format and that list is growing continuously, and most modules (at least those that would be used on the web) are available from ActiveState, or either without a compiler (though make is needed) or will compile under windows with the proper free utilities. Laziness with regards to installing modules doesn't indicate they don't or won't work.
5) From my time spent in the job market I would say it is pretty well divided among all of the languages, especially since most postings read something like "6 years of experience in Perl, CGI, ASP, PHP, Oracle, COBOL" (love that last one) which is a very poor indicator of the actual market...
6) I feel sorry for the development house (and their clients) that develops their site on a different system than it will be served (and I don't mean a developer sitting at a Windoze machine ssh'd into the server since that can't count because in that case they don't need the modules locally). Which means that if they are serving on Windows they know what is available and are more likely able to get something to work (I mean they are developers they ought to have a compiler available on their own platform and know how to use it). On Linux/*nix of course this is mostly moot... (and there is 60+% of us on that platform)...
7) Let's not even mention coldfusion...
Now we were having a very nice (albeit weird) discussion about MVC and pixies, let's not turn this into the typical mine is bigger than your's discussion........
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