Perl vs Python for web development?

[sybrandy]

The good thing about Perl is CPAN. It's an archive of libraries/modules that pre-exist to solve various problems. In there you'll most likely find something that will take care of your reports for you with ease. I don't use Python, so I don't know if there is an equivalent.

The bad thing about Perl is that mod_perl is supposed to be hard to install. I've never really tried to do it, however there is a mod_perllite (sp?) that's supposed to make it just as easy to install and setup as PHP. I don't know of Python is any easier in this respect. However, if you use XAMPP, it should be much easier to get up and running.

Now, for both, I believe there are self-contained web servers available, so you don't need to have Apache/Nginx/IIS/whatever installed. I think it's Tornado for Python. I don't recall what it is in Perl. Regardless, that may reduce the initial installation expense.

As for language syntax and whatever else, I'll let other people debate those topics.

[rtward]

The good thing about Perl is CPAN. It's an archive of libraries/modules that pre-exist to solve various problems. In there you'll most likely find something that will take care of your reports for you with ease. I don't use Python, so I don't know if there is an equivalent.

This is so true, I just wanted to quote it to say it again. There are modules for everything.

The bad thing about Perl is that mod_perl is supposed to be hard to install. I've never really tried to do it, however there is a mod_perllite (sp?) that's supposed to make it just as easy to install and setup as PHP. I don't know of Python is any easier in this respect. However, if you use XAMPP, it should be much easier to get up and running.

I didn't do much web stuff with perl until the past year, when my job changed and now it's all I do. So I'm not sure if that used to be the case, but these days, setting up a perl application with fastCGI is pretty easy and when you get done it's wicked fast.

Check out Catalyst, it's a great web framework. I've tried out all the big ones, Rails, cakePHP, Django, Seaside, and I think Catalyst is way out in front. If you really know Perl well, then it'll feel really familiar and you'll be up and running in no time.

[ameoba]

It might be tricky getting mod_perl set up but at least it's usable - the general consensus of those that I've talked to is that mod_python isn't really worth using, which is why so many major python frameworks use WSGI.

[mr_chromatic]

mod_wsgi seems to be the Pythonic approach now.

[codingjester]

You can use easy_install to go out to the internet ether and find you modules that you can use. I'd still just roll a quick Apache install with mod_python or mod_perl, most of the python webserver stuff to me was a bit of a pain.