Can't argue that there are not a huge number of big balls of perl mud rolling around out there (many of them being standard modules on CPAN, unfortunately). However, that doesn't mean that perl itself is the cause of all those balls. Given the necessary motivation and resources, good design and maintainable code can happen with perl.
The real cause is that it is harder to make well designed and manageable software than it is to just make something work and move on to the next thing. Perl doesn't force the same amount of structure on developers as some languages, so frequently even the crappiest perl still works fine (for now) and we get stuck with it. However, good design and structure CAN be imposed on perl by the developer (or his employer), and perhaps that is where the responsibility lies, not with the language itself.
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Can't argue that there are not a huge number of big balls of perl mud rolling around out there (many of them being standard modules on CPAN, unfortunately). However, that doesn't mean that perl itself is the cause of all those balls. Given the necessary motivation and resources, good design and maintainable code can happen with perl. The real cause is that it is harder to make well designed and manageable software than it is to just make something work and move on to the next thing. Perl doesn't force the same amount of structure on developers as some languages, so frequently even the crappiest perl still works fine (for now) and we get stuck with it. However, good design and structure CAN be imposed on perl by the developer (or his employer), and perhaps that is where the responsibility lies, not with the language itself.