Hello Jacques,

In my opinion, When you pick up a new technology like Java (or .net) you should learn it in its own right ... Trying to find Java's weakness against against Perl will only create a mind block for you ... which can hinder your motivation in learning it. (Which can result in poor grades at school)

I have been to some conferences which compared languages or platforms... but they were completly useless and full or marketting talk.

So just pick up a good book and learn Java. After you have gained some experience and proficiency in the language. The strength and weakness will automatically be visible to you.

Hope this helps.

regards,
Abhishek.