Re: Is Java really better than Perl???

Please help me to formulate a strong argument against these senseless accusations and show him that Perl is a truly elegant language and can do whatever Java does in less time.

I think you first have to invent a time-machine. Let's go over the arguments:

To consolidate the total number of languages in use by the Competency, leading to more efficient use of staff

That's a valid argument. Of course, it's not an argument for any specific language - just an argument to drop one or more.

Unsuitability of the language itself for large-scale development i.e poor IDE support, debugging support, GUI, Web work, etc - this was documented in the "Mid Range Language Strategy Document" last year.

Well, if you wanted a strong argument, you should have written an equivalent document last year. It should focus on how the languages are used in your company. If you have to turn elsewhere to find arguments, doesn't that mean you actually don't have a good argument yourself?

There's nothing you can do in Perl that you can't do in Java.

Depending on how you look at it. Certain programming techniques you can use in Perl you can't use in Java - but if you consider a program as a black box, you can't construct a Perl program that does things a Java program can't.

This position was cemented by the Perl-Java bake-off which demonstrated Java to be at least equivalent in speed to Perl and after much grunting this was accepted, except by some "old crusties", I suspect mainly for INERTIA reasons.

Well, there you lost another chance - note the past tense. Where was your input in the bake-off?

In fact with the new design reviews, any Perl implementations will not get past that gate.

Uhm, that's not an argument, but a policy, isn't?

As you can see, the person who came up with these "accusations" doesn't really have much idea about Perl, and certainly not the wonderful things Perl can do.

I can't see that. In fact, your arguments make me think that the decision wasn't taking lightly, and the judgement was made on actual research, and not based on an article read in some managers magazine. If all companies did such research before making decisions like that, the world would be a happy place.

And most of all, the honor of us Perl programmers are at stake.

Well, so is the honor of Java programmers.

I think you have a couple of options:

Adapt. Start programming in Java. Explore new worlds.
Rebel. Refuse to write in Java. You may get fired.
Focus. Mainly write utility scripts. That's where Perl shines as well.
Trump. Write your programs in Java. Write them in Perl as well. Make sure the Perl ones are faster/resource friendlier/quicker to develop/more robust/more maintainer friendly, without the Java programs being mediocre. Do this for the majority of the programs you write.
Leave. Get a job elsewhere.

Abigail

Comment on Re: Is Java really better than Perl???

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Re: Re: Is Java really better than Perl??? by Roger (Parson) on Apr 20, 2004 at 10:22 UTC
Hi Abigail, Thanks for the responses. Actually I was only lately told about the decision. A Java guy who doesn't really know Perl (I have seen his code) came up with this idea, and because he is somewhat closer to the manager and at a level higher than me, the issue becomes nasty. 1. Perl programmers were not consulted when this decision was made (by the Java programmer). 2. General accusations were easier to write and sound like they have done thorough research but have really not. 3. It's all to do with company politics.	[reply]
Re: Is Java really better than Perl??? by Abigail-II (Bishop) on Apr 20, 2004 at 10:40 UTC
Well, perhaps the only recourse you have is write a clear document why it's not a good idea to drop Perl. Start with organizing - find out who else thinks it's a bad idea to drop Perl - a counter document carries more weight if it's signed by a multitude of people. Make sure the document focusses on why it's bad for the company to drop Perl. Make sure you can back up your argument with facts - just saying that it takes the same amount of resources (== money!) to develop an equivalent program in Perl than a program in Java doesn't say much. If you have figures (which means, you got to do some research) to back up your claims, your arguments will be much stronger. Remember that your document has to be better than the one of the Java guy - he has already won a major battle. Abigail	[reply]