Re: [gentoo-user] New project in perl? {OT}

[Grant]

>> I'm sorry this is OT but I really value the opinion of many people
>> subscribed to this list.
>>
>> I'm starting a new project that is quite straightforward and will
>> interface with an old project.  The only point of contact between the
>> two projects might be both of them having access to the same database
>> table.  The old project is written in a language that is related to
>> perl so I can imagine there would be some benefit to using perl for
>> the new project.  Am I foolish to start a new project in perl at this
>> stage in its lifecycle?  I won't be doing the coding myself and I
>> wonder if I would be better off with PHP since more coders seem to be
>> familiar with PHP than perl.
>
>        In '99 I worked with a fellow who styled himself a software
> architect. The first step of each project he managed involved stating "We
> will write this software in Java." As you can imagine that's sorta
> backwards. I'd spec the software function, features, etc and then decide
> which language has better tools or command of the problem space. You will
> have to balance that against your knowledge of the language and the
> developer skills you have access to. However even the exercise of deciding
> "Python appears to be the superior language in this problem space, but we're
> going to go with Perl because the database module for our db already exists
> and is much more mature. Bob knows Perl better too." is worth doing because
> it helps define the scope of the project.
>        FWIW the current startup I'm at is using Ruby for the front end and
> it's been a bit more work that PHP which is what the last company used.
> That's partly Rails immaturity, our lack of experience with Ruby, and having
> to learn the Rails/Ruby way. Unless the language you're familiar with is
> completely unsuitable, I'd say familiarity trumps language features. YMMV.
>
> kashani

Thanks to everyone.  I really love this list (and this distro).  I'll
stick with perl.

- Grant