That's always been true, throughout the rise of PHP, Python, and Ruby. Now, Python is as widely available (actually moreso, if you're primarily considering the

That's always been true, throughout the rise of PHP, Python, and Ruby. Now, Python is as widely available (actually moreso, if you're primarily considering the major Linux distributions, where many of the system tools are in Python). That is definitely not a killer feature, if it ever was one. I'm a Perl developer, who also spent a few years working primarily in Python. But, I currently don't see anything that could flip that switch. Perl 6 might have helped seven, maybe even three or four, years ago. Or, a Perl 5 that didn't stop nearly completely for nearly a decade might have helped. I see some great things happening in Perl 5 development; it's spun up again in the past few years, and Perl 5.20 is going to be a great release with significant improvements that have been a long time coming. But, no one except Perl programmers are paying attention to new features in Perl 5. Even Perl 6, as incredibly interesting and novel as it is, doesn't really garner much interest anymore, except a brief, "Oh, is it done yet?" I still find Perl extremely productive. Many of the elements people complain about are merely matters of taste (and I prefer the Perl way about as often as I prefer the Python way). But, even I can't see how Perl could become the new hotness again. I'm becoming an oldtimer in this field, as well...not quite a greybeard, but my beard has some grey. And, most of the Perl conferences and meetups are populated by folks even older than me. That's no way grow a popular language.