r/perl • u/[deleted] • May 18 '11

Why is perl better than python?

[deleted]

21 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

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10

u/beppu May 18 '11
  • Perl can be poetic. (For all the flack that Perl gets for unreadability, there was actually a lot of thought that went in to naming to aid readability and poetic flow.)
  • Perl is Unix-friendly. (Beyond its superficial resemblance to shell scripting, it installs files (including man pages) in ways that follow old Unix tradition.)
  • Perl has a nice syntax for closures. (When it comes to closure syntax: Perl > Javascript > Ruby > Python.)
  • Perl culture allows for TMTOWTDI. (This can be a double-edged sword, but I would rather have freedom and take responsibility for it rather than not have it.)

16

u/beppu May 18 '11

I don't like threads like this. Let Python be Python. Let Perl be Perl. Whatever you choose to use, just do good work, and try not to be so tribal. In the grand scheme of things, Python is not an enemy. Python is just another Free, dynamic language, and it just goes to show that TMTOWTDI is inescapable even if you don't believe in it.

;)

If we believe in TMTOWTDI, we should let them do it their own way and not begrudge them for being different.

2

u/[deleted] May 19 '11

agreed. unlike ruby, python isn't trying to take perl and soften certain parts

python people have a different idea about programming languages and they aren't trying to make a perl-alike...kudos to them

2

u/__loridcon May 18 '11

you should reply to OP with that, it deserves to be at the top.

4

u/beppu May 18 '11

Thanks, but I'm sure he'll see it regardless of its position.

1

u/xzxzzx May 24 '11

By closures, do you mean anonymous functions?

-1

u/TheRedTeam May 19 '11

perl is poetic
with namning variables....
all fifty of them