On Wed, 15 Sep 2004 14:50:25 GMT, Chris <ceo / nospan.on.net> wrote:
[snip]
> So the question for any hardcore Perl coders out there that have 
> converted to Perl (or are fluent in both) is: Is it really worth the 
> time?  Are the paybacks there?  And do you feel you've exceeded your 
> capabilities in Perl using Ruby?

I'll throw my $0.02 into the pot ...

I wouldn't call myself a "hardcore" anything, but I have used Perl a lot,
written about Perl a good deal, and taught a fair number of Perl courses
(introductory and advanced). I do like Perl.

If you are fluent in Perl and have a good grasp of OO (Perl's and/or other
langauges), then fluency in the Ruby language itself should be a relatively
quick and enjoyable experience. What *will* take a while longer is becoming
familiar enough with what is and isn't available in the standard libraries
or on RAA and rubyforge to become as productive as you currently are in
Perl (but that isn't a "language" issue per se).

I will mention that I have tried out Python on a couple of occassions, but
was just never seriously drawn to it.

Ruby, on the other hand, appealed to me right away. As different as Ruby
and Perl are, they both "fit" with how my mind thinks and solves problems
--- and I've always been an advocate of balancing the old axiom of "using
the right tool for the job" with "using the right tool for your mind". Ruby
and Perl are both darn good tools in my mind, and for my mind. So for me it
was worth it, ymmv.

regards,
andrew

-- 
Andrew L. Johnson   http://www.siaris.net/
      What have you done to the cat? It looks half-dead.
          -- Schroedinger's wife