[Gllug] question about python/perl

[general_email at technicalbloke.com]

On 23/02/11 23:37, Martin wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> My situation is as follows. My main job is not in IT. Linux is my hobby.
> I'm also a freelance website designer. I'm ok when it comes to bash,
> started
> learning php a few months ago. That's it when it comes to
> programming/scripting.
> Now I don't have much time to develop, but I know that SLOWLY I could
> start learning
> another language. I'm not going to become a proper programmer (too
> late for that now),
> but both as a web developer and possibly an admin in the future, I
> will need another language.
>
> I'm thinking between python and perl. I know that python has a more
> modern, clear syntax and
> perl might be hard to read (also depending on who codes). I know that
> both languages can
> be used for web development (scripts on the server), and both can be
> used by system administrators.

If you're the sort of person who enjoys cryptic crosswords then go for
perl as that's what re-reading your code will feel like a few months
after the fact! There's always half a dozen ways to do any given thing
in perl so it can be made very concise, un-readably so. Its not really a
thing of beauty but it gets the job done for many people and if you're
using PHP you're already used to that ;)

If you appreciate simplicity and there being one canonical way of doing
things then go for Python, in fact, just go for Python! The usenet group
is IMHO the best programming group out there, it's libs are almost as
bounteous and it's a whole lot prettier / more readable. The downside is
you may find it a bit more verbose for system admin tasks but the time
you save by using linguistic shortcuts may be lost if you ever need to
decode what you've written in the future!

Roger
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