Not at all - there are several CPAN modules that deal with this topic. Carp::Assert, for example, provides a nice set of functions that work nearly the same as the ANSI C assertion library.

I don't think there's such a thing as the defacto intended application of Perl programs, so solutions are provided for just about everything. Chances are, if its been done in other languages, someone has done it in Perl, too.

--jwest

-><- -><- -><- -><- -><-
All things are Perfect
    To every last Flaw
    And bound in accord
         With Eris's Law
 - HBT; The Book of Advice, 1:7