I'm still fairly new to Perl, having first looked at it about 2 months ago for work and yet I think I can already see your point - but then maybe I'm stretching the virtue of laziness just a little too far...

Don't get me wrong, I do code daily in Perl right now but I probably spend at least as much time reading around the subject as I do coding. Thinking about various algorithms and how I'd implement them in Perl, then reading up how other people have done the same to see if I've actually managed to learn anything :)

I know from my perspective it is the Perl community as a whole that has fostered this interest - especially thanks to this site. For instance when I learnt C, (and C++) it was fun to code and fiddle with it but I'd never have access to a varied group of people all with a passion for it. Not just a passion either but a variety of viewpoints that all have at least some validity behind them, because Perl makes it very easy to have multiple solutions to a single problem.

TMTOWTDI... It still scares me a little, always wondering whether the solution I've discovered is good enough, whether it could be improved drastically with half the code - but then that again helps to foster interest and get me thinking and concentrating on trying to learn as much as I can.

To sum up, IMO I enjoy Perl for a lot more than just coding in it - and I feel it's due to the vibrant community aspect and the variety of valid and correct ways there are to solve problems

Neil