On 6/11/11 11:08 AM, Alain Péan wrote:
>
>>> So this was my first-ever vim script. So far I am not convinced about
>>> vim scripting (ok, I was warned, too)... Test cycle is slow (modify
>>> script, quit the realfile, open realfile again with vim -s script).
>>> Verbal error messages would be useful. There is supposed to be
>>> "integrated debugger". I would like to know more.
>> I'd still recommend learning to do it in perl as being likely faster and more
>> generally useful, especially if the sql db you mentioned can be accessed
>> directly. The regeps will be approximately the same and it is easy to find perl
>> example code for DBI operations and manipulating files. And unlike working in
>> shell/awk/editors, you very seldom find an operation that perl can't do itself
>> so it often ends up simpler than the shell wrapper you need for other tools.
>>
>
> I hope not to begin a flame war, but I would recommend Python. It can do
> the same things as Perl (regexp ansd so on), but is easier and faster to
> learn, and the code is also much more readeable...
There is sort-of a tradeoff in the syntax choices between the languages. Perl
is easier to write because it is flexible and you can use a syntax that
resembles something you already know (shell/c/awk) with simple changes. That
makes other peoples perl less readable, but not your own. The other win for
perl is that any operation that would take more than a page of code that you are
likely to want to do has almost certainly already been done and is available as
a module on CPAN (and possibly packaged as an rpm). Does python have anything
to match that yet? How many database types can it access with available
modules? Perl's DBI/DBD connector list is pretty large.
--
Les Mikesell
lesmikesell at gmail.com