Python vs. Perl, which is better to learn?

[Patrick W]

peter at abbnm.com (Peter da Silva) writes:

> [...] The problem is that adding new features over time to a
> language that wasn't designed for that kind of extension is going a
> more complex system than you would get if you had started out with a
> design that had them in mind or had mechanisms that let you extend
> it naturally.

One of the (huge) (potential) advantages I see in the .NET framework,
in spite of its unfortunate progeny, is that, with the ability to
write the truly performance critical stuff in C wrapped in C#, you get
a lot of the benefits of C++ without half the cruft of either the C++
language or the fiddliness of COM. (And you get a whole lot more
besides).

Seems to me that C -> C# -> [Python / Lispy language] could facilitate
a *really* nice layered approach. I just hope this possibility isn't
sabotaged by political/legal issues, and becomes a genuine
multi-platform solution.

On that note, does anyone know of efforts to make Python run on the
Mono implementation of .NET?