While all three are scripting languages, and they do have some similarities, there are absolutely huge differences between their respective communities. It's cr

While all three are scripting languages, and they do have some similarities, there are absolutely huge differences between their respective communities. It's critical not to ignore these differences. Python developers are generally more focused on building maintainable, robust, and reliable software. Being somewhat conservative, they usually don't buy into the latest fads or unnecessary hype. This leads to pragmatic software, without hype and without drama. Ruby developers are often more willing to experiment, even if this means trading away quality and the long-term maintainability of their code. They tend to be more community-oriented, and far more emotional than other developers. While this leads to a vibrant community, it is often rife with harmful drama and some fixation on certain idolized individuals. Perl developers often care more about short-term efficiency. Many of them aren't really interested in developing software itself; they just need custom software to ease some system administration task, or to process some data. While the community is vibrant, it tends to be more mature than the Ruby community, yet somewhat more conservative than even the Python community. While these don't hold true for every individual programmer of each of those languages, they are true in general. As a whole, understanding these communal traits makes it more obvious why each of those scripting languages is how it is, and what they can best be used for.