Hi there all,

Newly initiated perlmonk, both irl and online. I've just started working a bioinformatics and researching job in Boston after graduating college. I've started to learn perl and get involved with it, but I wanted to ask some experts on what their experiences have been.

My main question is whether perl's usefulness in bioinformatics, or computational biology as a whole, has been increasing or decreasing? While perl is the language I've currently chosen to learn and try to get better at, I'd like some more information from a professional stand point on whether it was a good decision. And what better place to ask than people who really know perl : ) So? Is perl a good choice for bioinformatics, in the long run? Or will it eventually be replaced by another language, for whatever reason?

Also, are there any other languages that are good in complement to working with perl? Or is perl strong enough to stand alone as like, a primary language of choice? Specifically in reference to bioinformatics and genetics/genomics work?

Thanks!