I'd like to add to the confusion of the "should Perl be included?" argument. I suggest that Perl devotees check out Python before spending much time in development of Perl admin scripts. Python addresses a larger problem set than Perl, it's more readable and easier to maintain, and it supports an object-oriented paradigm. It also promises to subsume the role of Tcl/Tk. If you'd like to check it out, it's in ftp.cwi.nl:/pub/python . Bruce