I think the biggest complaint about Perl, is that it is too symbolic (which I agreed when I started with Perl myself), making the learning curve steep. But looking back, I am now much better able to focus on the problem statement. Perl's TIMWTOWTDI attitude allows me to develop creatively, and caters to developers of varying depths. Even now I am still learning more tricks (like closures, tie) to make my work more efficient.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Boysenberry Payne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Clinton Gormley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "mod_perl" <modperl@perl.apache.org> Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2006 11:37 PM Subject: Re: A question for the newbies > I guess I'm still considered a mod_perl / perl newbie. I started > learning perl 6 months > ago in anticipation of translating a CMS (Content Management System) I > wrote in PHP. > > I considered Python, and C++ as alternatives. C++ was over kill and > would require > way too much development just to get going (why reinvent the wheel if I > don't have to.) > Python, seemed too similar to PHP for my tastes. I don't like being > "forced" to use > someone else's coding conventions unless I know there are valid reasons > for it. > With what I read about Python's white space issues, I thought it might > be more > tedious, rather than easier to maintain my 50+ files of code. > > Once I started looking into perl I was blown away. Not only has perl > been the "swiss > army knife" of system administration for well over 10 years, but > mod_perl blows the > socks off of php. > > So for my particular project I couldn't find a better solution. > > I think the hardest part about learning perl (coming from developing in > php for 5 years) was the odd mix of syntax. It's a mixture of a couple > of > languages. Because I was new to unix and shell syntax it was a bit of > time before I started to feel comfortable. Considering 70% of the > internet > is run off of *nix flavored servers it's not a bad skill to have. > > The benefits of having moved to perl from php are too many to count. > Just the efficiency of perl's string manipulation cut my code down by > up-to 50% in some cases. Perls abilities to be used both procedurally > as well Object Oriented makes it easy for me to use it which ever way > is most useful for my task. > > Moving from PHP to Perl has been the smartest move I've made. Our > code is more secure (we use a proxy system to keep it completely > separate > from our client's file server.) Our system is more stable and > responsive. > And my code is 100% easier to maintain. > > Although I could have used Python or even stuck with PHP and > accomplished > most of what I'm doing, it would take more time, and wouldn't be nearly > as much > fun. In my situation (building a CMS without funding, etc.) I don't > think I would > have made it this far without being inspired as I was by perl, mod_perl > and > all that they can do. > > Did I mention CPAN? > > My hat is off to the Perl/mod_perl community for giving such an > opportunity. > When in history has it been so bright? > > Boysenberry > > boysenberrys.com | habitatlife.com | selfgnosis.com > > On Feb 16, 2006, at 7:41 AM, Clinton Gormley wrote: > > > It seems to me that a lot of people new to mod_perl and to Perl have > > joined this mailing list recently. > > > > And this is during a period when popular opinion (amongst those who > > know > > no better) seems to regard Perl as antiquated. > > > > I'm delighted that new people are joining. > > > > My question is, what prompted you? What made you choose Perl above > > Java/.Net/Python/Ruby etc etc > > > > Do you have experience of those languages? What appeals to you about > > Perl? And how do you find your community experience/support compared to > > the other languages you know? > > > > clint > > > > > > > >
