Why should I switch to Python?

[Aaron Turner]

In article <00033120055300.03687 at quadra.teleo.net>, Patrick Phalen <python-list at teleo.net> wrote:
> [Aaron Turner, on Fri, 31 Mar 2000]
> :: A friend of mine is trying to convince me we should 
> :: do a project using ORBit in Python.  I've been 
> :: coding Perl for over 3 years and really like it.  
> :: (Especially it's syntax and ability to grok my 
> :: programming style.)  Now, I understand the Perl
> :: vs. Python war and everyone has their preferred
> :: taste in the matter.  
> :: 
> :: What I'd like to hear from people is what technical 
> :: resons I should switch to Python.  Are there any 
> :: features that Python has (perhaps in it's OO 
> :: offering) that Perl lacks?  From what I can tell
> :: people tend to prefer Python over Perl mostly
> :: for its syntax, which I find very likable.
> 
> 
> Aaron,
> 
> Please see:
> 
> http://www.python.org/doc/Comparisons.html
> 
> http://www.perl.com/pub/language/versus/python.html
> 
> Plus a Google search on "perl vs python" should give you plenty more to
> chew on without reviving that tiresome thread here.
> 

Yeah, I found those before I posted (as well as reading the archives of
this group on deja news).   Honestly I found them for the
most part very lacking in technical information.  Mostly things like:

- Perl code is ugly, Python code is easy to read
- Python was OO from the start, Perl's OO was a bolt on

But things like this aren't particularly useful in trying to determine
which language gets the job done better.  Code readibilty has 
historically been a human problem which is solved with coding
standards set for the programmers IMHO.   So I'm more interested in 
things like:

- What is the impact of Python's OO being there from the start?
- Does it perform better?
- Is it significantly easier to use?  
- More powerful/support features that aren't in Perl yet?

Honestly the more I reasearch, the more it seems that it's purely 
a matter of taste.  If you like Perl, there's nothing inherient about
Python that makes it better.   Sorry if this just sounds like a troll, but
I'm really trying to get a feel about something I know nothing about 
from personal experiance.

Basically if you know both languages, and were planning a mid-sized 
project, why would you choose Python?  It's hard to take my friend
seriously in his evaluation when he says he'd rather do this project
in C++  than in Perl (especially when he doesn't know Perl).

Thank you for your patience.

-Aaron