hello,

I got into learning Perl because some people on IRC said so. at first I wasn’t interested in Perl because I already know Python and Python can almost do anything Perl can. I still gave it a try to kinda have some experience learning new language. I am on chapter 3 right now and would make another post about my progress.

https://blob.perl.org/books/beginning-perl/3145_Chap03.pdf

    •  thingsiplay   ( @thingsiplay@beehaw.org ) 
      25•5 days ago

      For the language itself, maybe. But never discourage people from learning something new. He seems to be excited and has motivation. There are also lot of legacy code, which would never get ported or maintained if nobody learns the language anymore, only a few old people at that point (look what happens to COBOL).

    •  snaggen   ( @snaggen@programming.dev ) 
      8•5 days ago

      I learend it in the 90s, and was working on a large Perl codebase 2005 and a couple of years forward. And 20 years, it still started to feel dated, and 15 years ago it was just so out dated it hurt. So, starting to learn Perl 20 years ago would not have been great :) However, the things making Perl horrible, is pretty much threre in Python also with the addition of significant whitespace… so technically, going from Python to Perl might actually be a step in the right direction… Now, if you excuse me, I will hide behinde this huge rock for a while to let the incoming projectiles settle.

  •  spacedogroy   ( @spacedogroy@feddit.uk ) English
    8•5 days ago

    I worked with Perl for years, and I don’t recommend it for a beginner. There are just too many idiosyncrasies that belong specifically to the language that you’d be better off with Python for learning the basics.

    I’m also not really sold on that book, which from the code samples looks really old. I’d recommend two books: Modern Perl and Perl Best Practices.

    Edit: I’d also recommend working in Go but potentially the way i/o intersects with interfaces makes it a bit more challenging.

  •  CIAvash   ( @CIAvash@programming.dev ) 
    2•4 days ago

    If you want/like/enjoy something, do it, don’t listen to others. It’s also OK to learn something but never use it, either for the joy of learning or learning new things and new ways of looking at things.

    Perl was my first favorite programming language, I really liked it. my brain could connect with it easily(same thing wasn’t true for other PLs). It even helped me understand other programming languages better.

    My current favorite language is Raku.

    •  netizen   ( @netizen@programming.dev ) 
      1•2 days ago

      If you want/like/enjoy something, do it, don’t listen to others. It’s also OK to learn something but never use it, either for the joy of learning or learning new things and new ways of looking at things.

      Perl was my first favorite programming language, I really liked it. my brain could connect with it easily(same thing wasn’t true for other PLs). It even helped me understand other programming languages better.

      Pretty much this ^ Besides that, I still miss Perl, I loved it!

      My current favorite language is Raku.

      I was once also looking while Perl6 was evolving, and somehow liked it, but there was something keeping me out. There were no plans to allow me to use Perl6 the same way I (and everyone) uses Perl5: $ binaryinterpreter script.pl

  •  thingsiplay   ( @thingsiplay@beehaw.org ) 
    4•5 days ago

    I was about to start learning Perl in a proper way, but always decided against it. I just can’t find a good reason for myself to write Perl code. Unless you want to read or edit others Perl code, what is the reason to learn it? GNU+Bash and Python are often enough for me.

    So why learning and using Perl in modern age and day as a newcomer to the language? Look, I’m not negative here, just asking honest question. Because I am actually searching for good reasons to learn Perl.