Well, you all have comented about why not C/C++, since C/C++ will result in faster ( and more reliable?) code?
One of the first points to argue is: What are your needs?
You see, Perl is perfect for small needs. I know many experienced people have developed many things in Perl, but I don't think Perl's structure would fit a larger project, but it has a wonderfull string manipulation capacity, and yes, RegEx. Also to add to this, Perl runs on many systems as a Interpreted language, so, the same code will run almost equaly in many cases on many OSs, from NT to Linux ( includding Netware - and if Netware has Perl support, I wonder if my HP48 wouldn't). Then, if Perl is such a wonderland, present everywhere in the net, why do we still think of C++ and Java? And yes, Lua? First of all, as I mentioned, Perl is perfect for small needs. It can solve particular problems and an experienced programer can, in no time, write a small CGI to do a particular feat. But I found out it's troublesome to work with Perl in larger systems with larger teams. Managing a project done entirelly in Perl is a cumbersome activit.
So, even if Perl is nice and easy to learn, and in no time you can do your own CGI in Perl, I try to keep in mind you will want to switch to C/C++, Lua or Java if you have an experienced team in a bigger project. Mostly, mixing Java Servlets and C++ native code for really intensive operations. Or even switching to PHP or ASP if you are in lead of a novice team, not much experienced in programing, wich I discovered these can be trained easilly to use PHP and ASP, but not that easilly in Java or Lua.
So, in a few words, they all have their places in the world. If Perl is present everywhere, it's due to it's qualities, but Perl isn't suitable for larger, more complex projects, and that's when C/C++, Java and Lua are allways present. Perl is everywhere simple solutions are needed, but with the growth of the web as a work enviroment, and the popularization of thin clients working with browsers, you will see a spread in the use of Java, C++ and other options.
Hope I didn't bore you with my speech. Perl is not hell on earth as a programing language, even if I allways felt it lacks some structure. But it has a place and suits perfectly some needs.
Yes, it is. When I and a partner a time ago worked on a specification of how we would manage to implement a thin client philosofy on a company, we sticked to the concept of intranet aplications, maybe with a framework for that done in Java Servlets. I know there are some solutions for working with Java on thin clients, but even if I like Java, it's not thin enought to run on a thin client. But some web browsers are ( ex: DrWebSpyder from Caldera, wich run on a i386 and comes in a single floppy ), and can access server side logic with Servlets. Some classes can give you graphics on demand, PDF on demand and so on, and I also imagine these clients will run aplications that would consist in endless forms if done in other languages, so, HTML has all you need. I hope I have been of some help. You could check Caldera Website and The JavaSoft Site for some more info.
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Well, you all have comented about why not C/C++, since C/C++ will result in faster ( and more reliable?) code?
One of the first points to argue is: What are your needs?
You see, Perl is perfect for small needs. I know many experienced people have developed many things in Perl, but I don't think Perl's structure would fit a larger project, but it has a wonderfull string manipulation capacity, and yes, RegEx. Also to add to this, Perl runs on many systems as a Interpreted language, so, the same code will run almost equaly in many cases on many OSs, from NT to Linux ( includding Netware - and if Netware has Perl support, I wonder if my HP48 wouldn't). Then, if Perl is such a wonderland, present everywhere in the net, why do we still think of C++ and Java? And yes, Lua? First of all, as I mentioned, Perl is perfect for small needs. It can solve particular problems and an experienced programer can, in no time, write a small CGI to do a particular feat. But I found out it's troublesome to work with Perl in larger systems with larger teams. Managing a project done entirelly in Perl is a cumbersome activit.
So, even if Perl is nice and easy to learn, and in no time you can do your own CGI in Perl, I try to keep in mind you will want to switch to C/C++, Lua or Java if you have an experienced team in a bigger project. Mostly, mixing Java Servlets and C++ native code for really intensive operations. Or even switching to PHP or ASP if you are in lead of a novice team, not much experienced in programing, wich I discovered these can be trained easilly to use PHP and ASP, but not that easilly in Java or Lua.
So, in a few words, they all have their places in the world. If Perl is present everywhere, it's due to it's qualities, but Perl isn't suitable for larger, more complex projects, and that's when C/C++, Java and Lua are allways present. Perl is everywhere simple solutions are needed, but with the growth of the web as a work enviroment, and the popularization of thin clients working with browsers, you will see a spread in the use of Java, C++ and other options.
Hope I didn't bore you with my speech. Perl is not hell on earth as a programing language, even if I allways felt it lacks some structure. But it has a place and suits perfectly some needs.
See you all...
Yes, it is. When I and a partner a time ago worked on a specification of how we would manage to implement a thin client philosofy on a company, we sticked to the concept of intranet aplications, maybe with a framework for that done in Java Servlets. I know there are some solutions for working with Java on thin clients, but even if I like Java, it's not thin enought to run on a thin client. But some web browsers are ( ex: DrWebSpyder from Caldera, wich run on a i386 and comes in a single floppy ), and can access server side logic with Servlets. Some classes can give you graphics on demand, PDF on demand and so on, and I also imagine these clients will run aplications that would consist in endless forms if done in other languages, so, HTML has all you need. I hope I have been of some help. You could check Caldera Website and The JavaSoft Site for some more info.