Programming Forums > Script Programming > Perl

ercmilla · Dec 1st, 2005, 11:01 AM

hello everyone. my name is eric and this is my first post. yessah! I'm in school trying to be an DBA, systems analyst, or something around those type things. Anyway, I've just started learning perl because my friend told me it was an excellent language to learn for communication with a database. is this the case? whats the meaning of life? is there a better language out there? i hear that php is, but i also hear otherwise. Also, if anyone can give me some advice on these professions id be really happy and be straight chillin fo sho. : cool :

coldDeath · Dec 1st, 2005, 12:34 PM

From what I've seen/heard Perl is a great language for that sort of stuff. But i prefer python for my scripting needs

Arevos · Dec 1st, 2005, 1:07 PM

When I first came across Perl sometime around 2000, I found myself doing everything in it. A few years later, I discovered Python, and I haven't really touched Perl since.

Python's a very clean, and is completely object orientated. Perl's pretty messy, and the object system is something of a hack. Perl's still pretty good at short scripts, but it's a language that's less relevant these days.

Ruby is a language that could be arguably be described as Perl's spiritual successor. It's very OO, has the in-built regexs Perl has, and boasts some pretty advanced features, including continuations and anonymous methods.

DaWei · Dec 1st, 2005, 1:22 PM

Perl was written as a report language. Wall and assigns did well with it over the years, predominantly because of a great attitude. I consider it somewhat outmoded. Strictly personal opinion. Don't know as coolness can rectify that, ya dig, hepcat?

jim mcnamara · Dec 1st, 2005, 4:50 PM

Actually what happens:
1. If you work in a small shop you have to use whatever is already in place - perl, ruby, etc. Then you can create new stuff using your own choice. To get the job in the first place you will need experience with whatever the shop now uses.

2. If you work in the corporate world, you will work in an extremely restricted range of tools, and require an act of God to use anyhting else for production. The tools you use to develop are your choice as long as you have a legal license to use them and cn talk the sysadmin into installing it....

Arevos · Dec 1st, 2005, 5:12 PM

Learning a programming language is a useful learning exercise. I'm a Java developer, professionally, but I would be a far worse programmer if I didn't know languages like Python, ML or Nice.

Besides, languages like Python or Ruby are far more fun to program in than 'mainstream' languages like VB, Java or C#

Infinite Recursion · Dec 2nd, 2005, 10:11 AM

I'm oldschool... so I like Perl moreso than Python... although Python is very nice also. If this is going to be a web app, I suggest PHP.

Example of connecting to MySQL via Perl:

(Toggle Plain Text)

#!/usr/bin/perl
 
use DBI;
 
$dbh = DBI->connect('dbi:mysql:DBNAME','USERID','PWD');
 
$sql = "select * from TABLENAME";
 
$sth = $dbh->prepare($sql);
 
$sth->execute ||
die "Could not execute SQL statement ... maybe invalid?";

Dec 1st, 2005, 11:01 AM	#1
ercmilla Newbie Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	is perl the answer? what say you...? hello everyone. my name is eric and this is my first post. yessah! I'm in school trying to be an DBA, systems analyst, or something around those type things. Anyway, I've just started learning perl because my friend told me it was an excellent language to learn for communication with a database. is this the case? whats the meaning of life? is there a better language out there? i hear that php is, but i also hear otherwise. Also, if anyone can give me some advice on these professions id be really happy and be straight chillin fo sho. : cool :

Dec 1st, 2005, 12:34 PM	#2
coldDeath Expert Programmer Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: UK Posts: 862 Rep Power: 3	From what I've seen/heard Perl is a great language for that sort of stuff. But i prefer python for my scripting needs __________________ Programming Tutorials - Linux Installation Guide - Learn Python - Learn C++ Got Slack? Join us at #programmingforums @ irc.freenode.net! My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.

Dec 1st, 2005, 1:22 PM	#4
DaWei Resident Grouch Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 6,453 Rep Power: 10	Perl was written as a report language. Wall and assigns did well with it over the years, predominantly because of a great attitude. I consider it somewhat outmoded. Strictly personal opinion. Don't know as coolness can rectify that, ya dig, hepcat? __________________ Abstraction doesn't make it impossible to write bad code; it makes it possible to write superior code. Contributor's Corner: Grumpy on C++ Exceptions DaWei on Pointers

Dec 2nd, 2005, 10:11 AM	#7
Infinite Recursion Programming Guru Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: United States Posts: 3,453 Rep Power: 7	I'm oldschool... so I like Perl moreso than Python... although Python is very nice also. If this is going to be a web app, I suggest PHP. Example of connecting to MySQL via Perl: (Toggle Plain Text) #!/usr/bin/perl use DBI; $dbh = DBI->connect('dbi:mysql:DBNAME','USERID','PWD'); $sql = "select * from TABLENAME"; $sth = $dbh->prepare($sql); $sth->execute \|\| die "Could not execute SQL statement ... maybe invalid?"; #!/usr/bin/perl use DBI; $dbh = DBI->connect('dbi:mysql:DBNAME','USERID','PWD'); $sql = "select * from TABLENAME"; $sth = $dbh->prepare($sql); $sth->execute \|\| die "Could not execute SQL statement ... maybe invalid?"; __________________ http://jasonpowers.net "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."

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Dec 1st, 2005, 1:07 PM	#3
Arevos Programming Guru Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: England Posts: 1,499 Rep Power: 4	When I first came across Perl sometime around 2000, I found myself doing everything in it. A few years later, I discovered Python, and I haven't really touched Perl since. Python's a very clean, and is completely object orientated. Perl's pretty messy, and the object system is something of a hack. Perl's still pretty good at short scripts, but it's a language that's less relevant these days. Ruby is a language that could be arguably be described as Perl's spiritual successor. It's very OO, has the in-built regexs Perl has, and boasts some pretty advanced features, including continuations and anonymous methods.

Dec 1st, 2005, 4:50 PM	#5
jim mcnamara Hobbyist Programmer Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: New Mexico Posts: 228 Rep Power: 4	Actually what happens: 1. If you work in a small shop you have to use whatever is already in place - perl, ruby, etc. Then you can create new stuff using your own choice. To get the job in the first place you will need experience with whatever the shop now uses. 2. If you work in the corporate world, you will work in an extremely restricted range of tools, and require an act of God to use anyhting else for production. The tools you use to develop are your choice as long as you have a legal license to use them and cn talk the sysadmin into installing it....

Dec 1st, 2005, 5:12 PM	#6
Arevos Programming Guru Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: England Posts: 1,499 Rep Power: 4	Learning a programming language is a useful learning exercise. I'm a Java developer, professionally, but I would be a far worse programmer if I didn't know languages like Python, ML or Nice. Besides, languages like Python or Ruby are far more fun to program in than 'mainstream' languages like VB, Java or C#

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Programming Forums > Script Programming > Perl

is perl the answer? what say you...?