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The title doesn't really match what I expected from the article. I was expecting use cases where Perl just excels or is a hard to remove part of a critical work

by ascar 4y ago

The title doesn't really match what I expected from the article. I was expecting use cases where Perl just excels or is a hard to remove part of a critical work flow that needs active Perl development. I know why I would pick Perl over bash. But why should I pick Perl instead of Python or Ruby? Ruby is a natural choice for all the things he mentioned too. That's the question I would've liked answers to.

endemic 4y ago
> why should I pick perl instead of Python or Ruby? Nostalgia, maybe.
corytheboyd 4y ago
One potential answer is Perl might be installed in more places by default, so portability. Things like MacOS have all three installed, but some random Linux environment might not. It's a bit of a stretch, but you asked hah
- systems_glitch 4y ago
  Yup, one of the big reasons I still use it. Basically every Perl module is also in OpenBSD's binary packages, too.
- darrenf 4y ago
  Actually Apple announced a deprecation in 2019, so in some ways it’s surprising to still find Perl installed by default in macOS. From the Catalina release notes[0]: Scripting Language Runtimes Deprecations Scripting language runtimes such as Python, Ruby, and Perl are included in macOS for compatibility with legacy software. Future versions of macOS won’t include scripting language runtimes by default, and might require you to install additional packages. If your software depends on scripting languages, it’s recommended that you bundle the runtime within the app. [0] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-catalina-10_15-release-notes https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-note...
  - corytheboyd 4y ago
    Oh that's actually wonderful news, system installed runtimes always trip up the less familiar when version managers are involved, which is basically every rails shop (rbenv or rvm)
forgotmypw17 4y ago
I pick it because it is widely installed and does not require additional packages or configuration to be useful. And I like the syntax. I write "basic" no-frills Perl which I can read next month, and I can copy it to another machine and be sure it will work.

by ascar 4y ago

endemic 4y ago

> why should I pick perl instead of Python or Ruby? Nostalgia, maybe.

corytheboyd 4y ago

One potential answer is Perl might be installed in more places by default, so portability. Things like MacOS have all three installed, but some random Linux environment might not. It's a bit of a stretch, but you asked hah

systems_glitch 4y ago
Yup, one of the big reasons I still use it. Basically every Perl module is also in OpenBSD's binary packages, too.
darrenf 4y ago
Actually Apple announced a deprecation in 2019, so in some ways it’s surprising to still find Perl installed by default in macOS. From the Catalina release notes[0]: Scripting Language Runtimes Deprecations Scripting language runtimes such as Python, Ruby, and Perl are included in macOS for compatibility with legacy software. Future versions of macOS won’t include scripting language runtimes by default, and might require you to install additional packages. If your software depends on scripting languages, it’s recommended that you bundle the runtime within the app. [0] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-catalina-10_15-release-notes https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-note...
- corytheboyd 4y ago
  Oh that's actually wonderful news, system installed runtimes always trip up the less familiar when version managers are involved, which is basically every rails shop (rbenv or rvm)

forgotmypw17 4y ago

I pick it because it is widely installed and does not require additional packages or configuration to be useful. And I like the syntax. I write "basic" no-frills Perl which I can read next month, and I can copy it to another machine and be sure it will work.