Introduction to Perl

Perl - Practical Extraction and Report Language

Created in 1987 by Larry Wall because he was lazy, impatient, and hubristic (arrogant).

The Perl Motto

• There's more than one way to do it.

Strengths:

• Allows easy manipulation of files, text, and system processes
• Great for prototyping, system administration, and WWW programming
• Getting better all the time through its open source development process

Weaknesses:

• Interpreted (mostly) so it's not the fastest language.
• Not statically typed. (It's easy to abuse your variables)
• Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister (Author's own words.) Some consider this a strength.

For more on Perl's philosphy:

• See Larry Wall's Natural Language Principles in Perl