I learned perl before C, and now find learning C to be incredibly difficult. whereas in perl i can just say "shift" or "chomp" or something, and pass variables around like potatoes, in C, everythign must be accounted for and kept track of. perl is a good language. but, as a first language ive detrmined its a bad idea. it makes you lazy, and unpreparred for more advanced (and useful) langauges.