PERL???

Discussion in 'CIW Certifications' started by CIW XHTML CSS, Jul 25, 2007.

  1. CIW XHTML CSS

    CIW XHTML CSS New Member

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    Hey just a quick topic, is Perl really that important these days? All the jobs advertised include ASP, PHP and .Net languages with none of them mentioning Perl.

    Regards

    Wayne :)
     
    WIP: CIW
  2. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    Yes - it *is* important.

    ASP and .Net are (mostly) Windows based things. PHP and Perl can live easily on Linux/Unix or Windows or Mac. So it will depend on the target what the job offers will demand!

    Harry.
     
    Certifications: ECDL A+ Network+ i-Net+
    WIP: Server+
  3. DJDave

    DJDave Bit Poster

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    I'm on this topic now and I'm so fed-up with it.
     
    WIP: CIW
  4. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    I think python is probably more relevant for new projects, there will always be legacy code about though so somewhere there will always be a need for perl. For example there are billions of lines of legacy COBOL about.

    It doesn't hurt to have a few strings to your bow, learning multiple languages is pretty much expected these days.

    Many people say perl is cryptic, I would avoid 'write once' languages in general if you can, because they are a nightmare to support. Of course you can create coding standards, comments, policies, designs etc to avoid issues but on large projects they will always get broken.
     
  5. Mitzs
    Honorary Member

    Mitzs Ducktape Goddess

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    What is a write once language?
     
    Certifications: Microcomputers and network specialist.
    WIP: Adobe DW, PS
  6. stuPeas

    stuPeas Megabyte Poster

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    Thats the first time I've ever heard Perl called a legacy language. I'm sure the thousands of Perl developers out there may disagree. :biggrin
     
    Certifications: C&G Electronic, CIW Associate (v5).
    WIP: CIW (Website Design Manager)
  7. dmarsh
    Honorary Member 500 Likes Award

    dmarsh Petabyte Poster

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    Languages that are easy to write but no one can comprenhend later ! :biggrin

    Perl people are very proud at how they can for instance write a very complex regex, while this is useful it should be commented so that a maintenance programmer or a code review will know the intent.

    Writing code professionally means making sure it will continue to work for years to come, a successful system will have its code written once but read and altered many times.

    Well peoples opinions differ, perl still has alot to offer, but I wouldn't start a greenfield project with it.

    Python vs Perl
     
  8. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    Almost any language can be written in 'write-once' mode.

    Well written Perl, with adequate documentation, need not look like line-noise!

    Harry.
     
    Certifications: ECDL A+ Network+ i-Net+
    WIP: Server+
  9. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    The snag is that REs can be very powerful if well written. And can achieve effect that take pages of code in some other languages. As you say - it should be well documented.

    And finaly - a maintenance programmer should be well versed in the language he is maintaining.

    Harry.
     
    Certifications: ECDL A+ Network+ i-Net+
    WIP: Server+
  10. ffreeloader

    ffreeloader Terabyte Poster

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    Glad to see there is someone besides me around here that likes Python. I find it several degrees of difficulty easier to work with than Perl, and yet still really powerful. Perl's real problem for me is all that obfuscated code out there, and even in the books that are supposed to teach it, as the authors will jump from plainly written code to obfuscated code without warning and then just leave you to figure it out on your own.
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCDBA, CCNA, A+
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