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Why PHP Sucks (Hint: It doesn't)

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Re: Why PHP Sucks (Hint: It doesn't)

#11

Post by jrockway »

It's unfortunate that he thinks Perl is one of those lanagues (like PHP and COBOL) that you "shouldn't use" because it's useless, dead, broken, whatever. PHP gets a lot of hate because it's completely broken. The designers knew nothing about programming when they designed it, and that shows up every time someone writes a PHP site.

But I digress. Perl is not in the same class as PHP, it's in the same class as Ruby and Python. I think it actually one-ups those languages in a variety of places, actually. Perl has predictable scoping rules, unlike Ruby; and you can have multi-line anonymous functions, unlike Python :) I know this sounds like a broken record, but Perl's culture of libraries is something other languages really need to steal. The best part of using Perl is the code that you don't write ;)

Anyway, just thought I would clear this up. The world has a lot of hate for Perl, but it's mostly unfounded. Perl back in 1996 sucked, but programmers back in 1996 sucked. In the last few years, Perl has attracted a ton of exceptional programmers, and we have some really nice stuff now. (Moose, Ernst, Catalyst, DBIx::Class, the list goes on...)

Re: Why PHP Sucks (Hint: It doesn't)

#13

Post by mlinsey »

bct wrote: post #3

> As I’ve programmed in various capacities and looked at hundreds of thousands of lines of code over the years, I’ve never once thought to myself how the task would have been easier if that supposed missing feature were truly there. I think we've got a Blubber here. > Ah, reply the nay-sayers, you only think that way because you have never known Feature X and how it could help. To which one must reply: hogwash. [...]…

A "blubber"?

Re: Why PHP Sucks (Hint: It doesn't)

#14

Post by bct »

mlinsey wrote: post #13
bct wrote: post #3

> As I’ve programmed in various capacities and looked at hundreds of thousands of lines of code over the years, I’ve never once thought to myself how the task would have been easier if that supposed missing feature were truly there. I think we've got a Blubber here. > Ah, reply the nay-sayers, you only think that way because you have never known Feature X and how it could help. To which one must reply: hogwash. [...]…

A "blubber"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blub_(programming)

Re: Why PHP Sucks (Hint: It doesn't)

#15

Post by stcredzero »

You need an easy way to pass around anonymous functions, or you can't easily implement Don't Repeat Yourself. Result? You repeat yourself and write poorly factored code.

Writing poorly factored code is the norm. Sturgeon's law applies here too. That doesn't mean it should be your goal, however.

Re: Why PHP Sucks (Hint: It doesn't)

#16

Post by nir »

Very true, but too often people end up focusing on tools instead of what you do with them.

I suspect most people engaged in PHP/Ruby/Python/Erlang/etc use them as much as suburban dads use their Black & Decker powertools. Seems to me you either obsess about your tools or you actually use them - few do both.

Re: Why PHP Sucks (Hint: It doesn't)

#17

Post by nir »

nir wrote: post #16

Very true, but too often people end up focusing on tools instead of what you do with them. I suspect most people engaged in PHP/Ruby/Python/Erlang/etc use them as much as suburban dads use their Black & Decker powertools. Seems to me you either obsess about your tools or you actually use them - few do both.

Sorry.. This was supposed to be in reply to "Unfortunately some people think that means there's no point in seeking out good brushes and paint."
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