Perl v. Python (was OO.o, was METRO, was...)

Ted Roche tedroche at tedroche.com
Fri Mar 17 10:56:00 EST 2006


On Mar 16, 2006, at 10:29 AM, Paul Lussier wrote:

> Nor did I take it as such.  And I was merely observing that, though
> the languages are both roughly the same age, Perl has significantly
> more mind-share than Python.

It depends upon the minds you're citing. Google cites 290 million  
hits on Python versus 365 million on Perl, so you could argue that's  
an edge or around a 4:5 ratio. But three hundred million hits is  
popular enough for me.

OTOH, other development circles I hang out in are all abuzz about  
Python and Ruby. Perl just sort of "is". Lots of *innovative* things  
seems to be showing up in Python.

The Tiobe survey of languages shows a pretty close match-up:

http://www.tiobe.com/index.htm?tiobe_index

Places sixth and eighth, but with Perl at twice the percentage of  
Python.
(This citation falls firmly into the "lies, damned lies and  
statistics" category, imo)

I think most of us know it's not the hammer, it's the hand that  
determines the quality of the piece. But it is interesting to see the  
various tools and the mindsets they convey.


> Ted Roche
> Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
> http://www.tedroche.com




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