You know, I'm kinda going through a similar thing. I wrote a script to search for users in an LDAP directory and update an attribute at the same time. I decided to write it in Perl because it looked so easy. And, it was. Works like a champ. Being new to Perl, and this was my first script, I was amazed at the power in a short amount of code. I've written in C, C++, Java, Lisp, Ada, Modula-2, Prolog, Pascal, and none of these are as easy as Perl (although Java is nice). However, my co-worker, who is familiar with JSP, began writing an HTML form to collect input data to pass to the script. We found that JSP and Perl didn't mix very well. In fact, we are still having trouble getting the two to integrate (probably ignorance hold us back). What's the point? The point is that sometimes a language choice defines an architectural choice. For example, Java implies that you need a JVM to run on the host OS (or browser). If Windows were my primary OS and I was writing a commerical application, I might think twice about Java. If the application must be cross-OS compatible, then Java is a good choice. For my script, I wish my co-worker and I had done our research ahead of time. We just didn't know...in fact, we still don't. But, we can't make an informed decision without the facts. Probably didn't help you much but, take heart in this. CGI isn't going anywhere soon. Millions of web pages use CGI and every web server supports it right out of the box. Perl is so easy to code and CPAN offers a world of scripts. I have seen Perl script writers whip out code in minutes that takes others days. It may not be commercial grade but, who of us writes commerical applications all the time. 90% of the time, I'm trying to accomplish a simple task or test a theory. You can't beat Perl for that.
Gavin Henry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I really like Perl, but lately everywhere I seem to go and talk to say I shouldn't be learning Perl as it's old and Python is better. Since starting to learn Perl though, every other language I started to learn/t, C, PHP etc. seem to make more sense now, as Perl has cleared things up. When I look at Perl, I can understand it (it kind of looks like bash), when I look at a Python script, ugh. I have been also trying to do some gui work with perl using wxperl, Python seems to be much better suited/supported (for wx) and I couldn't find very many docs for wxperl. What else is good looking to use? I love CPAN. Basically, my morale is getting low and I need a boost from you guys. Perl isn't old is it? I am on the right path? Be kind ;-) Thanks all, Gavin. -- Just getting into the best language ever... Fancy a [EMAIL PROTECTED] Just ask!!! -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
