I have a rule which I try to keep in mind- "don't use Perl for what you can do simply with sh or sed or awk or <insert shell tool> and don't use sh and sed and awk and <insert shell tool> for what can be done simply in Perl".

As I have matured in both environments I have found the scope of what I can do simply/elegantly with each has increased. Perl's has a distinct unix heritage, any time you invest in learning shell will not be wasted when you come back to Perl.

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my $chainsaw = 'Perl';