Re: /bin/perl

[Mark Shuttleworth <marks@thawte.com>]

Guy Maor wrote:

> But run-parts is not the issue here.  The issue is whether a better
> scripting language should be on the debian base set, installed in
> /bin.  I think everyone will agree that bash can sometimes be a pain to
> write scripts in.
> 
> Chris argues that if we include perl, we'll have to include everybody's
> favorite language.  While perl may or may not be the best scripting
> language, it is without question the most popular.  The perl binary is
> 0.5 megs; we can prohibit base scripts from 'use'ing anything so we
> won't require the libs.
> 
> Is increasing a base Debian install by half a meg worth giving
> developers a bit more convenience?

Um, I *have* to put in a plug for Python here. Without wanting to
start another war I believe it's clean, well designed, lightweight
and very extensible.

The documentation system that I'm (slowly) poking at is written
in it, so it will be required for doc management unless someone
rewrites it in C :-(.

Regards,
Mark

--
Mark Shuttleworth
Thawte Consulting cc.