From: Chad Perrin <perrin@...>
Date: 2006-01-04T02:12:50+09:00
Subject: Re: application and web app technologies

On Wed, Jan 04, 2006 at 01:47:58AM +0900, cartercc@gmail.com wrote:
> 
> I agree with you about Perl, and CPAN is a fab resource, but the reason
> we need to rewrite the code is because (1) it doesn't work (due to
> external changes) and (2) it takes us less time to write new routines
> that it does to decypher the old ones and modify them. Besides, I work
> in an academic setting, and when people ask you what you use, I have
> learned to cringe when I reply, 'Perl.'

Just use the best tool for the job.  Who cares if someone has delusions
of the "one true way"?  Most language communities have a sense of
superiority as if they've found the only language worth knowing in some
significant portion of that community.  My experience is that Ruby and
Perl suffer that problem less than most, but the point is that you'll
end up with someone looking down their nose at you no matter what
language you choose.

If you really want to be in some kind of academic elite with your
language of choice, though, you could just go with a Lisp variant.  The
Lisp family of language has a lot going for it, including the fact that
Lisp is apparently the One True Way -- just like every other language,
but even moreso in academia.

-- 
Chad Perrin [ CCD CopyWrite | http://ccd.apotheon.org ]

"Real ugliness is not harsh-looking syntax, but having to
build programs out of the wrong concepts." - Paul Graham