Perl vs Python: Full Comparison

Key Points:

• Perl was launched as an alternative to text files, but also performs other tasks. Python was launched by Guido Van Rossum in 1991 as a new scripting language to appeal to C/Unix hackers.
• At times, the Perl code is difficult to read due to the many symbols used in writing besides numbers and letters. Python coding seems to be much simpler to code and easier to understand.
• An amazing feature found in Python is Function Argument Unpacking. You can unpack a dictionary or a list as function arguments by simply using * and **, respectively.

Perl and Python are both programming languages, but they perform different tasks. Between the two, Perl was first invented by Larry Wall, who was a programmer and linguist from America in December 1987. Perl 1.0 was the first version designed for operating systems based on UNIX.

Python was later launched on February 20, 1991, by Guido van Rossum as a hobby project during the December holidays. It was just a programming language. Python made coding simple to use, learn, comprehend, and master.

The main difference between Python and Perl is that they are both based on ideas that are complete. Perl needs a semicolon at the end, while Python doesn’t need the use of a semicolon.

Perl vs Python: Side by Side Comparison

Perl vs Python: 10 Must-Know Facts

• Perl was launched as an alternative to text files. It keeps being modified to perform other different tasks in addition to text files. At times, the Perl code is difficult to read due to the many symbols used in writing besides numbers and letters.
• Python was launched by Guido Van Rossum in 1991 as a hobby project. When he got the idea of Python, he was looking for a project that would keep him busy during Christmas for a week. He had thoughts of coming up with a new scripting language that would appeal to C/Unix hackers and a descendant of ABC. He decided to name it Python.
• The initial name for Perl was Pearl. Larry Wall decided to give Perl a shorter name that had positive connotations. Larry also wanted to name it after his lovely wife, Gloria. He revealed that before the name spelling and the official release, the Pearl programming language existed.
• Tim Peter, who is a contributor to the Python community, wrote a poem about Python called “The Zen of Python”. This poem states some amazing facts about Python.
• Perl has introduced some amazing, robust tools that are used for processing texts and make it absolutely necessary to work with HTML, XML and all other markup and natural languages.
• One amazing feature that is found in Python is Function Argument Unpacking. You can unpack a dictionary or a list as function arguments by simply using * and **, respectively.
• Perl is licensed under both the Artistic License 1.0 and the GNU General Public License. The capabilities for handling text in Perl can also be used in coming up with SQL queries. Arrays, automatic memory management, and hashes make the process easy to process and collect the returned data.
• In Python, you can use the clause “else” with a loop “for”. This is a special syntax type that executes when the loop exits naturally and doesn’t have a break statement.
• Perl is an optional component that is used in the popular technology stack of the Lamp for developing websites at the pace of Python or PHP.
• The Python coding language is very easy to write in as well as understand compared to other programming languages like Perl.

Summary of Perl vs Python

Perl 

Perl is a programming language that was launched by Larry Wall in 1987. It was made up of two general-purpose, interpreted, and high-level dynamic programming languages. Perl is typically used for information extraction directly from text files and converting a certain text file to another different form or printing a report out. Perl also offers tools to solve complicated problems like systems programming.

The programs that are written using Perl are known as Perl Scripts, while Perl programs simply mean the system program that is called Perl and is used for executing Perl scripts.

Features of Perl

• It has a lot of in-built functions that are used for operating system functions and support text processing.
• Due to its very expensive nature, most codes written in it are short, even for large programs.
• Perl gives you procedural programming with expressions, subroutines, variables, and code blocks.
• Perl 5 has some added features that help in supporting object-oriented programming data structures.
• Data management tasks can be done using associative arrays.
• Codes that are written using Perl 6, which is also known as Raku, can be called directly from within the Perl program and the other way round.
• Perl 5 is now a CGI scripting language that is commonly used in finance, network programming, and system administration, among others.

Pros of Perl

• It enables the user to use the same code in different styles.
• Using Perl, generation reports can be easily done.
• It is very simple to code because it doesn’t use whitespace.
• Perl has powerful options for String Comparison that helps in writing short and quick codes.
• Most input and output operations are faster when using Perl.
• Perl has a multi-purpose language.
• It appears to be Shell Language.
• Perl is a more mature language.
• It uses braces and follows the traditional approach for both loops and functions.
• Perl can be functional, imperative, object-oriented, or procedural, depending on what it is needed for.

Disadvantages of Perl

• It always creates problems when large codes are used.
• Perl is very slow for many tasks.
• It has very ugly libraries.

Python

Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language that was designed by Guido Van Rossum and was officially released on February 20, 1991. It was designed to emphasize the code’s readability by using an important indentation. The Python language is object-oriented and constructs an approach that helps programmers write logical, clear code for large and small-scale projects.

Features of Python

• It is very easy to learn, understand, and master.
• Python has many pre-built libraries, so it makes coding easy.
• The code of Python runs on different hardware and operating systems.
• Debugging code in Python is simple because the code is very easy.
• Some database integration is possible when using Python, like Oracle and MySQL, among others.
• Python has an automatic garbage collection.
• It is easy to integrate Python with other different programming languages such as Java, C++, and C, among others.

Pros of Python

• It supports large programs and they can be written by just using a few code lines.
• Python has a simple syntax that makes it easy to understand and learn.
• Lines don’t need to end with a semicolon because Python uses indentation and whitespace.
• Python has strong and amazing support from libraries because the areas that use Python are vast, like big data, desktop applications, machine learning, web programming, etc.
• Python can be installed for free and used to write asynchronous code in a matter of minutes.
• The Python programming language can help in increasing productivity.

Cons of Python

• Python, being an interpreted language, seems to be slower compared to other programming languages.
• Python’s Global Interpreter Lock makes it not good at threading.

Perl vs Python: Which One Is Better? Which One Should You Use?

Perl and Python were both invented to serve different purposes as programming languages. They both have some similarities as well as differences. Though Perl seems to be faster compared to Python, there are other programming languages that seem to be even faster than Perl.

For beginners in coding, the easiest programming language that can be easily understood, learned, and mastered is Python. Perl is more complicated to master, learn, and understand. Companies that have large programs to be done should consider using Python, or else, companies that need small programs can use Perl.

There are many differences between Perl and Python, but everything has its own pros and cons. If you choose to focus on and understand one programming language, then it is much easier. Perl has its own ways of performing tasks, while Python on the other hand restricts the user.

Python is slowly taking over in the programming language sector due to its high number of packages that are compatible with all computing environments. Perl nowadays seems like it is a dying language because of the newly introduced ones that have better features than Perl. But with the recent announcement of the release of Perl 6, Perl might become better in the near future.

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