My response like many others starts with "it depends" but I take a different approach.

I have long believed that basic programming skills could benefit all computer users, including non Tech/CS professionals. I have been dismayed that computer courses at the high school level or even "intro" college level consist of learning computer applications like MS Office. There was a time when everyone learned BASIC...

but getting off the soap box...

If you want to teach a group of non-CS students a programming language as a basic tool, then I think Perl is an excellent choice. If you are teaching a an intro class for CS students then for reasons already cited, Perl is not the best choice. CS students need to know how to do things the "Right Way" before they discover Perl. Other people, be they researchers, etc, who want to be able to knock out some quick code to do a small task/demo a concept, can find Perl to be a real gem.

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