in reply to (A6) Perl 6, a general-purpose language?
To me, Perl is a general-purpose language, if you look at the coverage of its function, and the coverage of CPAN modules. I see general-purpose language as a concept against specific purpose language. (Let's don't get into the discussion of the definition of general-purpose language, that could lead to lengthy but pointless discussion ;-)
The real point is that every language has its own strength and weakness, regardless whether it is Perl, c, c++, Java, or whatever.
As I said, Perl+CPAN already has a very wide coverage, but that does not mean Perl is the best choice for everything it covers. Whether a language covers something is totally different from whether it is the best tool to deal with that thing.
Perl 6 will be quite different from Perl 5, and it will have a longer list of major strength, and a shorter list of major weakness. That's for sure.
As Perl monks, obviously we appreciate Perl's strength more than anyone else does, but we should also have a clear picture of Perl's weakness, so that we are able to make the right use of Perl, and avoid forcing it into the corner.
The real point is that every language has its own strength and weakness, regardless whether it is Perl, c, c++, Java, or whatever.
As I said, Perl+CPAN already has a very wide coverage, but that does not mean Perl is the best choice for everything it covers. Whether a language covers something is totally different from whether it is the best tool to deal with that thing.
Perl 6 will be quite different from Perl 5, and it will have a longer list of major strength, and a shorter list of major weakness. That's for sure.
As Perl monks, obviously we appreciate Perl's strength more than anyone else does, but we should also have a clear picture of Perl's weakness, so that we are able to make the right use of Perl, and avoid forcing it into the corner.
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