Bugzilla Talk:Languages: Difference between revisions

** Perl is badly specified and lacks formal foundations. It fails at the very first test of a programming language - that it should be readable and programs written in it be easily understandable by new developers. Its really just a portable source tree - not a defined language. Its syntax and semantics are often arbitrary, interact badly, and are ill thought out. Its clear that Larry Wall did not have any education training or expertise in computer programming, which is perhaps why the main text on the language is just as much about the authors quirky personality and humor as the language itself. That the bugzilla team are expert Perl programmers mitigates all of this - programmer expertise always wins out over language pros and cons. The point is that no serious project starting today would use Perl as its foundation. Use of Perl is falling (according to the few quantitative measures we have access to on the internet, e.g. the TIOBE programming language index). Its widely recognized as not fit for purpose and industry has moved on. If you're genuinely looking at the long term future for bugzilla, then its really a given that should not be in Perl. If any of what is written above seems too strident, then you have been working on a single project for too long, open the windows and get some fresh air :)

* Certain syntax things are confusing for new users