Perusing Categorized Questions and Answers, I came across an unanswered question still worth asking. Setting aside the somewhat dubious nature of the actual question, I've fielded this one rather often from Perl detractors:

"Yeah, but Perl can't talk to Windows, much less do GUI or DirectX, so Visual Basic or C/++ is always as good, if not better, if you're not on *nix."

A cursory search revealed only a little discussion of this, and I'd like to see it in Categorized Questions and Answers. (GUI) Windows Programming FAQ addresses the GUI aspect. How about other stuff like COM, or DirectX (shudder)?

Aside: Remember Q&A. Put frequently asked questions there, with your answer. Point people there when they ask the umpteenth version of the same question. Vote on the answers you see there - it's a good place for you vote-out'ers to visit :-)

Russ
Brainbench 'Most Valuable Professional' for Perl