A Mountain of Perl Books + Python Advocacy

[rzantow at my-deja.com]

In article <20000405053920.20579.qmail at web2102.mail.yahoo.com>,
  lewst <lewst at yahoo.com> wrote:
...
> What is it about Perl that makes it so much more popular and have such
> a huge grassroots swell?  I personally find Perl an abomination and
> Python a breath of fresh air.  Perl has that first mover advantage I
> suppose, but should that really make such a hugh difference?
...
Here's my theory, which is my own: It all depends on syntax. Perl's is
so nasty that its newbies *need* the books to make any use of it.
Python's is so clean that the occasional online nudge is sufficient.
Publishers see the market in Perl books, so they keep cranking them
out, and Perl users keep searching for the elusive key to understanding
the whole language, and buying more books. I'm really surprised there
are as many as 13 Python books on the market. I'd have thought there
was a need for maybe three, along with about two pamphlets and a poster.


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