I see four questions in your node:
  1. Whether to use Perl or PHP for "CGI stuff".
  2. Whether to use Perl or PHP as a "backend for web applications".
  3. Whether Perl is dead.
  4. Whether anybody knows anything about Perl 6.
Quite a list for a newbie.

Without anything about your background, requirements for your project, constraints, prerequisites, how can you expect anybody to give a meaningful answer to 1. and 2.? Should I buy car A or car B? Any salesperson of A will say "A", any salesperson f B will say "B". Does that tell you anything? Don't you think you'd need to go a bit further as in "it shouldn't cost more than X, it should be fuel efficient at least as Y, you shouldn't need a drivers license for it, etc. etc.".

As to 3., I think you can safely say that there are a lot of people developing and using Perl on a day-to-day basis. Would you consider Apache dead because there haven't been that many new versions out lately?

As to 4., I think only Larry Wall will be able to answer that conclusively. Meanwhile, you better check out his articles on Perl.com and try to grok the Apocalypses as well as Damian's Exegesi.

Hope this helps.

Liz

In reply to Re: perl or php? by liz
in thread perl or php? by perlid

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