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Automating Stuffs- Python ,Perl ,Ruby

 
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Once Perl was ruling the roost in automating mundane tasks then Python & Ruby
Ruby inherited the Perl philosophy of having more than one way to do the same thing , and where does Python fit in this?

 
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Python has its infamous koans (which you can see by importing the "this" module), one of which is "there should be one, and preferably only one, way to do it. This is a clear shot to Perl's "there's more than one way to do it".

I agree very much with this koan because it has a large effect on the readability of code. With multiple ways to do the same task, programmers have to be familiar with every possible way in order to understand a given Perl script. This is redundant and increases Perl's learning curve.

And Perl's learning curve (and its syntax, which tries to make maximal use of cryptic punctuation marks) was one of its downfalls once easier languages like PHP, Python, and Ruby started gathering steam.
 
meenakshi sundar
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I agree with you, my guess is that python's success was precipitated by the rise in popularity of scripting languages such as perl and the use of scripting languages with web technologies.

As programs became larger, however, people looked for a scripting language with more expressive power and modularity. Perl added object support . Large perl programs were also notoriously difficult to read and debug.

Python seemed to address these shortcomings and gradually built a very loyal following.
 
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Al Sweigart wrote:And Perl's...syntax, which tries to make maximal use of cryptic punctuation marks was one of its downfalls...


I've been writing perl scripts for 16 years, and have never used them. You were never REQUIRED to use them. I always found this to be a gross miss-characterization of the language. You can write some extremely cryptic code in ANY language by choosing poor variable names. Granted, Perl has a lot built in to the language, but they are easily ignored and never used.
 
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