Normally i would just shake my head, mutter something like *tsk* *tsk* and move on. But this is some funny stuff. Sad, but funny. Who do you think you are? You, a registered user, post this crap anonymously and expect us to suddenly drop Perl and start embracing Java? Maybe you haven't read Re: Re: Perl falls victim to shifting trends(Opinions/Comments From The Other Side) yet ...

This would make more sense if you were selling us .NET instead. Why oh why does one Open Source solution have to attack another? Shouldn't we be combining our efforts to find ways to make all of these Open Source languages work together? Can't you see that Microsoft revels in these banalities? Or are you really just spreading their FUD?

Personally, i think Java is tedious language, but you don't see me posting Perl advocacy over at JavaJunkies. Since i don't really like Java (hey, i gave the language a fair shot - i even got certified!), i don't bother to share that opinion with that community. They don't need it. We don't need yours.

hardburn posted a clever little anecdote along the lines of "Java is good for building castles, Perl is good for building huts." I couldn't agree more. Unless you have a team of experienced Perl programmers, you have no business implementing the solution in Perl. Java is a great language for experienced and novice programmers, Python spans that gap even better. I just happen to love Perl not because i invested time to learn the language, but because it is such an expressive language that it allows my programming skills to grow. I am not constrained by bondage and discipline and therefor i am allowed to invent new things, even at the expense of re-inventing a wheel. With great power come greater responsibility. No matter what language my PHB of the year requires me to use, i will always use Perl (behind his/her back) to make my life easier. I suspect a lot of others do this as well. Perl is dead? Long live Perl.

One thing i have noticed around here is that most of the questions that are asked and answered deal with 'hut' like problems. These 'serious projects' you speak of probably fit in the 'castle' category, and as such, are out of the scope of this community and in the hands of the PHB's that 'run the show'.

So, do us all a favor, next time you get the urge to sell Language X at Language Y's communtiy .... DON'T! Use your time learning more about one or the other and leave the conversation for "beer talk" when you take a break.

Oh by the way, regarding your "benchmark", you just compared two huts. The Java hut may be faster, but it also has an extra moat, drawbridge, and dungeon that you don't need. :P

jeffa raises the phoenix from the ashes and gets back to making impressive huts

"real programmers program ... the others complain"