To take your question in steps: I use a combination of perl, html tinkering, and javascript for web-development. Use a combination of perl and korn shell for must Linux applications. I'd like to be able to write perl executables and GUI applications, I'm learning Tk at the moment, but for now that's in the relm of java and VB. My favorite use for perl is to make my own computer run better and to tackle little ideas and problems I have.

Why: I started using perl for webpage design because that's what the scripts I would be working on were written in - I continue to use it for it adaptablity (esp. used with CGI and HTML::Template). When I write scripts for Linux, they need to be able to easily pass and obtain data from the OS and other scripts, which many times are not written in perl, perl offers the best and quickest way for me to do this. I have little control over what I write my executables and GUI in, so even after learning Tk well enough to use it, it will be a while before I use it at work.