Is Perl still a useful, viable language?
- by Bob
I know it may have been asked before, but here goes nothing...
Is Perl still something that would be considered useful? If someone was a new programmer (either completely new to programming or just a few month/years of experience) would Perl be something to be considered worthwhile to learn?
Is Perl still used with frequency? Is it still popular?
Or is Perl dying out compared to languages like Python, Ruby, PHP, ASP, .NET, etc.?
Basically it boils down to this:
Is it still used/is it still used frequently? If yes, is it dying? If no, will it make a come back?
Is it something that would be worth learning?
How does it compare in demand to languages like Python in both popularity and usability/viability? Could languages like Python or Ruby be considered replacements for Perl?
Also, will newer versions of Perl really bring a large improvement to the Perl community, and perhaps bring Perl back to centerstage compared to other languages?
EDIT:
Okay, I suppose here's a better, reworded question:
Is Perl still growing, or is it "dying"? Is it still a language worth learning and using? What projects does it really "shine" in compared to other languages? What makes Perl a language to choose? Essentially: is Perl growing obsolete compared to other languages, and if so, do you expect that to change, or to continue?
And thank you to everyone who has answered so far, the discussion has been really interesting!
