Python vs. Perl, which is better to learn?

[Gerhard Häring]

* Steve Holden <sholden at holdenweb.com> [2002-05-02 11:42 -0400]:
> [...] 
> Not all languages extend easily. Even Visual Basic, as sundry a hodge-podge
> of accumulated features and syntax as could be desired, has had to be
> mangled heavily to bring it into the .NET world. Most of the changes are
> justifiable rationalisations.
> 
> The really interesting thing is the lack of noise from the VB community
> about that, while the poor Python development team have to suffer howls of
> anguish just to get True and False into the language ;-)
 
That's because Visual Basic 6 isn't really a language. I view it as the
de-fact standard test container for COM components, and as an IDE for
assembling COM components that you buy from third parties. Using it as a
language to write more than the most simple glue code can hurt your
brain, seriously. Only some examples:

- ridiculous error checking (On Error Goto); no exceptions
- no usable data structures in the standard libraries (even the
  Dictionary object is too limited; try to use a custom Class as a key,
  for example)
- no multithreading

I'm someone who got burned trying to actually write code in this
"language", while working at a mostly MS/Oracle shop. I hope I'll never
have to touch VB <= 6 again.

Gerhard
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