I don't know squat about money. (I appear to be allergic to it), but it does make logical sense.

The regex power and the flexible multi-platform lexical of Perl, coupled with the fact that within a year the interoperability of Java Application server tools and applications should(will?) be handled by an evolution of SOAP and XML Schema standards, AND that fact that the SUN / Microsoft war limits Sun Java's transactional access to the Microsoft world via RMI or IIOP, (i.e. Denial of Sun Java access to the COM world) it is a perfect fit.

The fact that Microsoft put out the SOAP initiative still has me in shock. It's such a un-Microsoft thing to do. The SOAP protocal is simple and Open and makes sense for all distributed object communicatons regardless of platform origination or destination.

Perl has proven that it's flexibility eases the learning curve(trainning costs) and time to market issues assosiated with adaptive technologies. Those aspects of transactional processing that are not provided by SOAP or by the disparate Java's have been managed by CORBA for years. It's a tad chatty and difficult but COPE seems to have provided a Perl level interface to the type of transactional control that's missing in a UNIX to MS and back transaction. (Not to mention transactional control all the way back to the mainframes, or how Perl LDAP hooks could provide security between the platforms:) I honestly think this is the perfect door for Perl to find the acceptance it has sought to achieve from mainframe centric firms. (especially with IBM putting linux on the mainframe and the NSA initiative for a 'secure' linux.)

I just wish I had the time/brains to be part of a proof of concept. I think I've started this node in an attempt to create Open Source 'itches' because I'm not smart enough to scratch it myself. So you might call it a rather 'rash' node :)

coreolyn