---
title: Python vs Perl
date: "2006-01-11T12:00:00Z"
categories:
  - how-i-do-things
wp_id: 427
---

[Python vs Perl](http://www.developertutorials.com/tutorials/python/python-perl-050423/page1.html). Sums up my feelings perfectly: Python may be better for larger projects, but for my meddling, I'll stick to Perl. It's served me well for 10 years.

Until 1999, I used Perl a fair bit, but no more than Java or C or anything else. My first "real-life" use of Perl was in 2000, when I was processing 600MB of IBES data. Access and SPSS couldn't handle the load. Perl slurped all the data in a few seconds, though. A few years later, when processing bank data (3GB worth, this time), Perl again was the only saviour. In fact, between Excel and Perl (and [CPAN](http://www.cpan.org/)), I think I have all the data analysis power I've ever needed. This blog, for instance, is written in an Excel spreadsheet, exported to XML, and converted into the blog format by Perl.