Perl

Perl is an excellent, extremely powerful programming language. Perl is the primary programming language for web CGI scripting and been since the web’s infancy. It is free, cross-platform, and tons of modules and online resources of all kinds are available.

Perl started off as a system administrator’s tool to ease mind-numbing tasks by writing quick scripts that perform a task previosuly done by hand. The quick scripts, ease of writing (not reading) and the powerful string functionality made Perl the primary CGI scripting tool when web pages first started becoming dynamic.

Perl is still used for many reasons. The mod_perl module for Apache has sped up CGI programs. Other modules from CPAN Perl can run fast and efficiently. Perl is still widely used for system scripts for getting a job done quick and dirty. It is also used for some applications at enterprise internet companies including Ebay and Amazon.com.

Be sure to check out my links to excellent free Perl and Python books to download or read online.