[thelist] What prog. language to focus on???

Katherine Spice k.spice at acu.ac.uk
Thu Feb 8 06:18:31 CST 2001


Zac wrote:
> perl is a great language but I find that all it really does, aside from teaching
> you how to use reg expressions better than any other language, is teach you how
> to program in perl.

That's true, but knowing how to program in perl makes my life easier
time and again. 
For example, yesterday, I got sent a spreadsheet, containing contact
details which are to go into a database - no problems there, until
discussion with client uncovers the fact the the company name and first
address line are mixed up, and can I move everything from company which
either begins with a number, or contains "flat" or "PO Box" into
address1 (and add2 into add3, add3 into add4 etc), and with perl, I
can.  However, if this is not your thing, then perl may not be the best
choice.....

Ray Hill wrote:
> 
> I see a lot of job postings asking for Perl, but the problem with Perl is that there's more than one way to do everything, so inheriting an existing Perl script from someone else is a nightmare (often poorly commented, hard to follow their version of how to do it, and often easier to rewrite the script from scratch).  At least, that's been my experience...

+1 - this is _so_ true.

HTH some,
Katherine




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