I disagree. The difference between Perl and Python is mostly a matter of slightly different syntax and maybe a few different libraries. Any problem you that can solve in Python in X number of lines of code, you can also solve in Perl in X lines of code (plus or minus 10%). About the only wisdom you'll gain is knowing that whitespace can be made significant. Now compare to something like Prolog. You can solve some "Real World (TM)" problems in X lines of code, which would take 10X-100X lines of Perl (or Ruby, or Java, etc.). If a person doesn't know many other languages besides Perl, they won't necessarily know that some languages are based on completely different paradigms. Perl, Python, Ruby, and Java are (gasp) pretty much cut from the same cloth. If you know one of those languages, you won't learn new ways of thinking by learning one of the others. Just having a brief encounter with a language like Prolog or Haskell will interesting and exciting and it will enable different ways of thinking that you'll appreciate later.

In reply to Re^4: Right tool for the job? by Anonymous Monk
in thread Right tool for the job? by chester

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