hi, i was interested if perl is still relevant in this day and age. Perl has been on the decline for a very long time now. Perl 6 (now named 'raku) not being backwards compatible with perl 5 code made the already small perl community even smaller by splitting it in half. A good example is lisp with it’s thousands of different dialects.

Is it still worth using or is it bound to legacy software forever? Like cobol.

  • glad_catEnglish
    465·
    2 years ago

    For me, Python replaced Perl 15 years ago. I know Perl is a great language, but it’s too “write-only.” Python replaced both BASIC and Perl at the same time, even with the problems of migration from v2 to v3. Python can also do scripts to replace Bash and PowerShell. I don’t see myself learning Perl now, it would be a waste of time.

    Perl was revolutionary at the time with CGI and regexes, but it’s not needed anymore.

      • Muffi@programming.devEnglish
        291·
        2 years ago

        Even if you’re writing JavaScript, you should be using proper indentation. What an odd thing to keep you from learning it.

        • aard@kyu.deEnglish
          102·
          2 years ago

          I write code, indentation is something that the editor just does automatically. If I want to change indent settings I just mark the complete buffer, press tab, and magic happens.

          I’ve been using python for various stuff for a few years now as well, and the indent thing still annoys me.

              • tsz@lemmy.worldEnglish
                3·
                2 years ago

                List comprehension can actually do that, yes. This is one of the scripting aspects of python I use most commonly, and is probably one of its best-known features for creating “one liners”.

                  • tsz@lemmy.worldEnglish
                    11·
                    2 years ago

                    Absolutely bizarrely incorrect take on like everything you’ve stated as though it were fact. This is some classic reddit hole-digging and I’m loving it.

              • JTskulk@lemmy.worldEnglish
                2·
                2 years ago

                I think it’s an autocorrect typo. Should be: If it is actually a single line, I’d argue that you do.

        • dukk@programming.devEnglish
          2·
          2 years ago

          Things get messy though, when you have to break the rules of indentation once in a while or when you have “improper “ indentation. Whitespace is a stupidly messy thing. Indentation should be a style guide, not part of the language semantics.

        • AA5B@lemmy.worldEnglish
          11·
          2 years ago

          No, it really is horrible. I’m an old timer who learned on FORTRAN and other languages that were still suffering from the punchcard era. Making logic based on character positioning, and adding unnecessary restriction, is just so frustrating and tedious. We got away from such constraints by the 1990’s. Let’s not go back.

          Sure enough, my kid’s Comp Sci teacher tried to use Python because he read how easy it is to use, but no one succeeded because of the formatting. No one succeeded except my kid, who also became a rock star by helping kids reformat. Anyhow, back when computers were primitive and limited, such restrictions were understandable. They’re not anymore.

          Currently I’m a fan of Groovy. All the capability of Java without silly requirements like semi-colons. All the simplicity of Python without silly formatting restrictions

      • richieadler@lemmy.myserv.oneEnglish
        251·
        2 years ago

        If that’s your only reason, I’d encourage to try it anyway. Logical indentation is initially weird but it can be overcome very fast.

      • glad_catEnglish
        71·
        2 years ago

        It has never been an issue for me in 20 years. If you move code, you cut a whole paragraph, paste, and indent appropriately.

      • treadful@lemmy.zipEnglish
        62·
        2 years ago

        I wish python was not indentation aware. It has discouraged me from learning it.

        lol, then you just don’t like Python. You can’t disassociate the two things.