2 ms·

Ruby 1.0 was released in 1996 and Python 1.0 in 1994. If Perl's demise was due to the simpler syntax of Python and Ruby why was Perl ever popular? Answer: Perl

• pseudalopex 9y ago
  Perl was popular because it had a huge head start. Perl 5 was released the same year as Python 1.0. CPAN launched in 1995, PyPI in 2003. Python began to pick up momentum around 2000. It was able to break out of the "scripting" niche because it had good OO support and encouraged a consistent style that made it easy for several developers to work on a large project. Rails probably marked the tipping point, but it wasn't just the framework. A lot of Perl programmers found out they liked Ruby. You're right that Perl 6 was part of the problem; it might be where Ruby is today if it had come out in 2003. On the other hand, Ruby probably wouldn't exist if Perl 5 had a better object system.[1] It's "Ruby on Rails" because DHH fell in love with Ruby.[2] The creators of Django learned Perl before falling in love with Python.[3] So that has something to do with the languages too. [1] http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2001/11/29/ruby.html http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2001/11/29/ruby.ht... [2] https://www.quora.com/Why-did-David-Heinemeier-Hansson-choose-Ruby-over-Python-to-build-Rails/answer/David-Heinemeier-Hansson https://www.quora.com/Why-did-David-Heinemeier-Hansson-choos... [3] http://www.akitaonrails.com/2008/01/01/chatting-with-adrian-holovaty http://www.akitaonrails.com/2008/01/01/chatting-with-adrian-...