3 ms·

I learned Perl4 in grad school and it was a life changing tool to automate my analysis workflow. With it I was able to script complex solutions that drove step

I learned Perl4 in grad school and it was a life changing tool to automate my analysis workflow. With it I was able to script complex solutions that drove stepper drivers and CCD cameras on a microscope for data and image collection. I stayed through the Perl5 change over and thought it was good. Then I tried OO programming. And cried. And read that Perl 6 would make it better. But I needed something now, on a windows box, and free. That was 2003. I tried Python and loved it. Higher Order Perl made me appreciate what Perl could do, but the state of Perl 6 and lack of progress kept me away, as the features I most wanted were always fixes coming real soon now. I STILL program python. Perl had me and lost me. Perl might not be dead, but it is dead to me.

aduitsis 7y ago
What I got from mingling with the Perl community: The single most repeated advice (indeed Larry Wall himself has said it repeatedly), is that one should use whatever tool will allow one to carry out the task at hand and generally get things done. In that sense, Perl never had you because Perl probably isn't interested in "having" anyone. Maybe helping out people carry out their work, but not having them. It is about getting things done, without trying to be the next big thing in CS. At least that's what I'd like to believe. If Python helps you carry out your work better, you should most assuredly and definitely use Python. Ditto with PHP, Go, and all the rest. And Perl.
pvaldes 7y ago
> With it I was able to script complex solutions that drove stepper drivers and CCD cameras on a microscope for data and image collection. Can fall to mention that this sounds extremely sexy...
daotoad 7y ago
If you like OOP you should check out Moose and Moo in Perl 5. https://metacpan.org/pod/Moo https://metacpan.org/pod/Moo If you want regular Perl5 for Windows, Strawberry Perl is quite nice. http://strawberryperl.com/ http://strawberryperl.com/ Perl6, OTOH, has powerful OOP features like traits all built on a powerful, standard meta object protocol. Its functional programming features have evolved beyond Perl5's excellent support. Come back and try these things out.

aduitsis 7y ago

What I got from mingling with the Perl community: The single most repeated advice (indeed Larry Wall himself has said it repeatedly), is that one should use whatever tool will allow one to carry out the task at hand and generally get things done. In that sense, Perl never had you because Perl probably isn't interested in "having" anyone. Maybe helping out people carry out their work, but not having them. It is about getting things done, without trying to be the next big thing in CS. At least that's what I'd like to believe. If Python helps you carry out your work better, you should most assuredly and definitely use Python. Ditto with PHP, Go, and all the rest. And Perl.

pvaldes 7y ago

> With it I was able to script complex solutions that drove stepper drivers and CCD cameras on a microscope for data and image collection. Can fall to mention that this sounds extremely sexy...

daotoad 7y ago

If you like OOP you should check out Moose and Moo in Perl 5. https://metacpan.org/pod/Moo https://metacpan.org/pod/Moo If you want regular Perl5 for Windows, Strawberry Perl is quite nice. http://strawberryperl.com/ http://strawberryperl.com/ Perl6, OTOH, has powerful OOP features like traits all built on a powerful, standard meta object protocol. Its functional programming features have evolved beyond Perl5's excellent support. Come back and try these things out.