Web developer
Perl is dead. There is nothing that can be done. Pulling the plug and giving it an "Enterprise only" toe tag is all that is left. Why is this and how did it happen? Mostly because PHP is just too easy. In a recent discuss with an aquiantance I was asked why don't I write about or test Perl CMS applications. I just replied with:
me- "If you find a community system that runs on Perl that I can install in five minutes using Perl and MySQL then I write about it."
me- "..and it has to be able to run on low priced shared hosting."
friend- "What about MovableType?"
me- "Think you could build a web portal based on Movabletype?"
friend- "...hmmm...I'll email you with a list."
Well, now it has been two weeks and no list. I don't expect there ever to be one. Perl while having had it's day has been replaced by PHP. Perl opensource applications are non-existent and the number seems to be shrinking. Although Perl is default on most shared hosting installations you can't find a GPL Perl CMS that just requires that you do these simple steps.
- edit a configuration file
- create a MySQL database
- upload the files
- log in and start working
Nope, every Perl based CMS that I have seen or tried requires more access to a webserver than a shared host can give, CPAN libs, shell access, http.conf and bunch of other things that you have to be a real techie to accomplish. Some even go as far as saying don't bother unless you have a dedicated server to run the application on. At one time I thought that I had found something that would work like Drupal but was Perl and MySQL based. This was Scoop [1] the sortware that runs kuro5hin.org. I was wrong. Scoop is not a straight forward install. It will silence anyone that thinks installing Drupal is difficult.
This is why Perl is dead and why in the next version of the Web it will stay that way. Businesses and private persons will be trying to create communities and blogging. This is according to the latest reports from Gartner on the coming Web 2.0 trends. Web 2.0 newcomers will want their opensource software to be as easy as ordering a hamburger from McDonald's. The PHP opensource community has provided this and is getting better at it everyday. So much talk about bringing Perl back has been done but the fact is that the new language syntax and building of frameworks and other stuff is just a band-aid on a gunshot wound. The real reasons for Perls fall in status lie in the fact that Perl never accepted the web. Not that the web wasn't willing it's just that Perl developers seem to have abandon the web.
If you are a Perl developer or fan and think you can do better than Anders on getting back to me with that list of Perl based CMS's then please send it right along.
Happy Publishing!