Perl vs Python is a classic debate that has flared up on many forums, websites and user groups. Here is my $0.02 on the whole affair.
I was a very devoted Perl user till 2005 and then switched to Python, mainly because everyone else in the project was using it.
Like, so many others before me, I had difficulty getting used to the 'no bracket, indentation only' approach. But after some initial hiccups (mainly strong denial and prejudice against Python), I started writing some useful programs in Python. The indentation stopped bothering me after a while, but I never really bothered mastering Python the way I did Perl.
However, my opinion about Perl (and, indirectly, Python) changed last year. I had to generate some code coverage data for the Mac project I was working on but raw 'gcov' data files were not really helpful. I found that 'lcov' could create well formatted HTML pages showing code coverage data and annoted source code. I was very happy with lcov but going through lcov source code, written in Perl, left my head spinning.
I started losing track of the context within which certain variables were being used. The fact that I hadn't used Perl in while and had forgotten quite a lot of the idiosyncrasies native to the language did not help matters either. But I felt very guilty. I loved Perl before and I did not have any complaints against it earlier, so what happened now?
I went back to my old source code 'repository' (actually it was a bunch of zip files on a CD :-)) and had a look at the Perl code I had written. What was interesting was none of the scripts I wrote were more than 200 or so lines of code. They were effective but never long and I had never re-used any script. That made sense to me. I actually enjoyed using Perl as long as the scripts were small, I was the only one using them and I did not have to re-use them.
Henry Spencer, a well known computer programmer, called Perl a 'Swiss-Army Chainsaw, intending to convey his evaluation of the language as exceedingly powerful but ugly and noisy and prone to belch noxious fumes'. I think his observation is spot-on.
But once I started working with a team, Python seemed better. Python was a lot easier to read and understand and the learning curve was lot less steep. Python has everything that Perl offers but without the eccentricities. Moreover, Python has a better implementation of object orientation and is inherent to the language where as Perl's implementation has a very kludgy feel to it.
I will still use Perl for what it was originally intended for, mostly scripts that munge data, I will keep them small and will probably be the only one using it. I will, probably, use Python for everything else that is more involved and has complex tasks.
Update: I found this article, by Eric Raymond, which presents an argument in Python's favor more articulately.
I was a very devoted Perl user till 2005 and then switched to Python, mainly because everyone else in the project was using it.
Like, so many others before me, I had difficulty getting used to the 'no bracket, indentation only' approach. But after some initial hiccups (mainly strong denial and prejudice against Python), I started writing some useful programs in Python. The indentation stopped bothering me after a while, but I never really bothered mastering Python the way I did Perl.
However, my opinion about Perl (and, indirectly, Python) changed last year. I had to generate some code coverage data for the Mac project I was working on but raw 'gcov' data files were not really helpful. I found that 'lcov' could create well formatted HTML pages showing code coverage data and annoted source code. I was very happy with lcov but going through lcov source code, written in Perl, left my head spinning.
I started losing track of the context within which certain variables were being used. The fact that I hadn't used Perl in while and had forgotten quite a lot of the idiosyncrasies native to the language did not help matters either. But I felt very guilty. I loved Perl before and I did not have any complaints against it earlier, so what happened now?
I went back to my old source code 'repository' (actually it was a bunch of zip files on a CD :-)) and had a look at the Perl code I had written. What was interesting was none of the scripts I wrote were more than 200 or so lines of code. They were effective but never long and I had never re-used any script. That made sense to me. I actually enjoyed using Perl as long as the scripts were small, I was the only one using them and I did not have to re-use them.
Henry Spencer, a well known computer programmer, called Perl a 'Swiss-Army Chainsaw, intending to convey his evaluation of the language as exceedingly powerful but ugly and noisy and prone to belch noxious fumes'. I think his observation is spot-on.
But once I started working with a team, Python seemed better. Python was a lot easier to read and understand and the learning curve was lot less steep. Python has everything that Perl offers but without the eccentricities. Moreover, Python has a better implementation of object orientation and is inherent to the language where as Perl's implementation has a very kludgy feel to it.
I will still use Perl for what it was originally intended for, mostly scripts that munge data, I will keep them small and will probably be the only one using it. I will, probably, use Python for everything else that is more involved and has complex tasks.
Update: I found this article, by Eric Raymond, which presents an argument in Python's favor more articulately.
1 comment:
we have a site that is 80% built out created in PERL but we may have to scrap it and start out from scratch. Are you available to look at our source code and help us decide our next direction?
jerry@homehealthinstitute.org
Post a Comment