i saw yes, php is a much more forgiving and flexible friend unlike perl who's more like a strict headmistress.

used to code in perl, did a full e-commerce shopping solution with it and could do the same thing now in php in half the time. no i wont before anyone asks....

time is money so php definately wins my vote, it rocks!!

    LOL so saw this coming...

    Aight so first off, HORRIBLE topic for a survey.
    YES, PHP is moving ahead of Perl FOR WEB SCRIPTING.
    NO, Perl IS NOT DYING.

    This isn't even a yes or no question. If you want to ask:
    Is PHP moving ahead of Perl FOR WEB SCRIPTING?
    OR:
    Is Perl dying?

    THOSE are YES/NO type questions, but PHP can be moving ahead while Perl is NOT dying, so you're question just doesn't work.

    Perl usage is still EXTENSIVE in Linux/BSD/Unix environments, whether for system admin, commonly used programs in nix environments, etc. AND is by default included in many nix environments because many RELY on Perl to function. Perl is definitally NOT DYING in that aspect.

    YES though, PHP is moving ahead AS FAR AS WEB SCRIPTING. It was designed for the web, Perl wasn't, so it should be. BUT PHP is just starting to catch on for command line utilties, only recent versions even support this.

    Further, dont' forget that Perl has been used for web scripting for longer than PHP has... someone has to maintain / update / create new modules for all that Perl code. In my experience, it is very seldom that a business is willing to just dump tons of their code, time, money and applications ( based on any language, not just Perl ) for a new language, unproven FOR THEIR APPLICATION, just because somebody says it's 'dying' or because another language is used more now.

    Don't forget too that the next vesrion of Perl, Perl 6, based on the Parrot runtime, is still in development and should be released in the not-too-distant future.

    --- previous post ---

    Go Google for surveys on Perl and PHP usage. Perl CGI usage and mod_perl usage are both GROWING according to several recent ( read: last month and this year ) surveys I found. It's not growing as much as PHP, but it's growing.

    Also, as noted, Perl is included in a ton of Linux and Unix/BSD installs by DEFAULT. Perl is def. here to stay in Linux/Unix/BSD environments for quite a while.

    Also, for YEARS, Perl has been a great option for web scripting, mod_perl continues to develop and make it an even better option. TONS of sites are created using Perl... and all those sites need to be maintained. In my experience, it is VERY seldom that a business is willing to take an application they've dumped TONS of money into, and totally scrap it and rewrite it in another, unfarmiliar and younger language. Someone has to maintain those sites, and build on them in the future.

    The fact that PHP is created by a for-profit company can also be a turn-off to many companies... what happens if someday the next version of PHP becomes closed-source? If you suddenly have to pay for it?

    In any case wmac, I highly doubt you'll ever reach a point using either language where you have to worry about the speed of just including a header and footer, or even a ton of files. I'm not advocating Perl, and I'm not advocating PHP, but I would encourage you to realize that either is an option. If you want a real answer, you should go out and benchmark it both ways.

      doesnt something hav 2 liiive to die LOLLOLOLOL

      [/php fanboy]

        don't forget that the first step of a language dying is that it's growth rate slows. PERL has been experiencing that for a couple of years now.

          Go tell that to COBOL... thats been around for how many years now? And its STILL being maintained, developed, improved upon, and new apps are being built with it?

          And regardless, I bet you'd find that the growth rate of Perl on the command line is WAYYYY larger than the growth rate of PHP on the command line. Perl and PHP arn't just web scripting languages remember!

            really it's all just conjecture anyway.

            My recent experience shows that the market for PHP programmers is growing while the market for PERL programmers is shrinking.

              I would encourage you, then, to go do some searches for PHP and Perl employment...

              www.monster.com
              Perl - 1548 results
              PHP - 550 results

              hotjobs.yahoo.com
              Perl - 725
              PHP - 83

              dice.com
              Perl - 1329
              PHP - 98

              But hey, I'm not advocating one way or another. I just don't think its right to claim a language is dying when no one can produce any hard facts to back that up...

                Wouldn't give up either. I'm finding new uses for PHP everyday but I'm still using Perl and maintaining Perl scripts. Perl still kicks ass when it comes to processing text which was it's original purpose.

                Perl and PHP arn't just web scripting languages remember!

                So very true. If you want a to automate your everyday tasks either one of the scripting languages will work. I used a Perl/PHP script to find this topic. Perl processed the page (about 30 pages) and PHP put together the report. I use PHP to generate entire websites and even upload the pages to the server. I use Perl to work with datafeeds everyday.

                Couldn't give up either language. 🙂

                  www.monster.com
                  Perl - 1548 results
                  PHP - 550 results

                  hotjobs.yahoo.com
                  Perl - 725
                  PHP - 83

                  dice.com
                  Perl - 1329
                  PHP - 98

                  Im not trying to stick up for PHP. PHP is still very new and has still lots to look up to until its a great language.

                  But PHP has fewer jobs for a one particular reason. Only in the last 12-18months has PHP really taken off in the JOB market while Perl has been there for sometime now and those stats are also descending a steady pace for perl i will admit.

                  However Perl i guess now is dying as a web scripting language but will still be used for Server Administration.

                    hi,

                    Hey I just had to answer this question. I wouldn't say perl is dying though I wouldn't know, but I do really like php. I have both installed on my computer, but use php a lot more. perl is just very confusing with some things, while php is more understandable most of the time I think.

                    I had to comment also, on the job market of php. what is there out there? in the future once I get out of school and all that's what I'm looking for. a little off topic but someone mentioned it.

                      Ok, just to change the point entirly I'm curious about all this.

                      If we are all saying that PHP is going to become one of the major players then what prospects are there for a young PHP developer who has just graduated and stared using PHP for the first time?

                      How does PHP compaire to the big wigs at Microsoft with there ASP, .NET and ASP.NET stuff?

                      I know this changes the point of the origional post, but I'm just interested.

                      Tambo

                        3 months later

                        Summation:

                        Perl MAY be dying, but only for the web! Note I said DYING, not DEAD!!

                        And yes, PHP beats it hands down for the web, because it was built for that, just like Perl was built for text manipulation, etc...

                        They are both valid, useable languages and are better at some things to their own respective uses.

                        Don't count out Perl at any point in time.

                        I personally don't like Perl, never have, but you can't count out a programming language..... EVER!!!!!!!!!!

                          Originally posted by stolzyboy
                          I personally don't like Perl, never have, but you can't count out a programming language..... EVER!!!!!!!!!!

                          Very true. Just ask any COBOL or Python programmer.....

                            I don't think it's dying, it's just becoming less popular...

                              I don't think it's dying, it's just becoming less popular...

                              I would have to say that is a better way to put it and I agree with that.

                                8 months later

                                Originally posted by Boris Senker
                                I don't think it's dying, it's just becoming less popular...

                                for now?

                                It's like religions - they only live because and while people believe in them.

                                And have holy wars over them 🙂

                                  It's inevitable, Mr Anderson...

                                  Number of results on Google for the keywords perl and PHP:
                                  perl (22 000 000 results) versus PHP (374 000 000 results)

                                  The winner is: PHP

                                  So, there are far more pages with a .php extension than .perl 🙂

                                    But would doing a Google on filetypes really do the trick? It's not normal to write webapges in perl - like index.pl or services.pl.

                                    If you look at a product like Movable Type it's pretty clear that perl has a real life going on. It was only in the most recent version, out like a week ago, that they included some real PHP things in the mix as well.

                                    I think the more telling statistic was the job ads related to Perl. Who'da thunk that was the case?

                                      OSDN and Slashdot seem to like Perl enough to do everything in it :bemused: