One of your most frequently asked questions is, ‘What are the differences between Ruby and Perl?‘ So today, we have decided to address this query with our knowledge and research. We have chosen the topic Ruby vs Perl.
To contrast these two, we first need to understand what they are. From their names, we can infer that there are some basic similarities between Ruby and Perl languages. Now we will explore the differences. So, let’s get started.
What is Ruby?
Ruby is a dynamic, simple, open-source, reflective programming language. It is classified under general-purpose programming languages and is a cross-platform and open-source programming language. Yukihiro Matsumoto designed and developed it in the year 1995.
What is Perl?
Perl stands for Practical Extraction and Reporting Language. It is also a cross-platform programming language. Perl is a dynamic and interpreted programming language used for general purposes. Larry Wall developed it in 1987. Programmers can use Perl on any platform such as Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Differences Between Ruby and Perl
Here are some of the basic differences between Ruby and Perl:
1. Development and Release
The Perl programming language was developed by Larry Wall and released in 1987. Ruby is a newcomer to the programming industry, developed and released in 1995 by Yukihiro Matsumoto.
2. Web Frameworks
In the matter of Ruby vs Perl, Catalyst is a major and widely used Perl-based web framework, while Ruby on Rails is a major web framework used for Ruby. Ruby on Rails is an open-source web application framework. To write this, the Ruby programming language is used.
3. Unicode Support
When it comes to Unicode support, the Perl language has much stronger support for Unicode than the Ruby language. For example, Perl supports all Unicode properties, graphemes, and full case mapping.
The Ruby programming language does not support all these. However, Ruby’s encoding of strings is more explicit.
4. Object Orientation
The Ruby language is a pure object-oriented programming language. However, Pearl, up to the 5th version, is much less object-oriented. But the upcoming version of Perl is coming with very good object-oriented (OO) support.
Object-oriented programming stands for a physical model of programming execution, simulating the behavior of either a real or imaginary part of the world.
The developer of Perl believes that the choice of using object-oriented programming should be the programmer’s decision; the language should not force a programmer to switch to object-oriented programming.
Ruby also doesn’t force you to choose an object-oriented orientation, but if you do, it will be much easier to use than in Perl. However, if you use Moose/Moo from CPAN, you will have more object-oriented power.
5. Supporting Regular Expression
When we start a discussion on the support of regular expressions, Perl has a much greater number of libraries than Ruby. The Perl library of code, CPAN, is incomparable to any other library.
So, the supporting capacity of regular expressions in Perl is a little more than in Ruby. But you need not worry as a user of Ruby, as it supports most regular expressions.
6. Uses
Perl is most often used in the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripting along with C for web servers, and hence, it is widely used in the world of server technology. On the other hand, Ruby excels in metaprogramming, enabling users to create fabulous products like Vagrant.
In addition to this, Perl is the best choice for system administration workers and can also be used for web development tasks. Ruby is more suitable for the development of traffic-heavy applications.
7. Support Community
The programmers who use the Perl language have formed a community called “Perlmonks,” which is among the best for language support. The users of Ruby have formed a Google group as a support community.
Perl is an older tree in the garden of programming languages, so it has a vast number of followers. In contrast, Ruby, being new to this platform, is still gaining popularity. Ruby is more popular among young developers.
8. Variable Type
Perl has multiple variable types like a scalar, array, hash, etc. In contrast, the Ruby programming language offers only one variable type: a reference to the object. The object can act like an array, hash, or whatever is demanded.
9. Conversion of Strings to Numbers
The native type in Perl is efficiently capable of converting strings to numbers and numbers to strings automatically. The conversion depends on the context and the presence of different operators for numbers and strings.
On the other side, Ruby doesn’t support auto-convert. It leaves this matter to the programmers. This also encourages Ruby users to overload operators in a non-sensical way.
10. Use of Sigils
Perl uses sigils like @, $, and % to denote variable types, while Ruby uses sigils such as @, @@, and $ to denote scope. To use all the variables in Perl except functions, the user has to put some sigils.
But in the case of Ruby, there is no need for variables to work within local scopes.
11. File Extension
A file extension is another major difference between Perl and Ruby. Perl programs have the .pl file extension, while Ruby programs have the .rb file extension.
12. License
The Perl programming language has an Artistic License 1.0 or GNU General Public License. The license for Ruby is GPL version 2 or a 2-clause BSD license.
13. Influenced Language
Perl is influenced by C, Basic, Lisp, Ada, etc. It mainly resembles with C language. On the other hand, Ruby is influenced by C, Perl, Smalltalk, Ada, Lisp, etc. Ruby has some additional touch from Smalltalk which is missing in Perl.
14. Organization
Some programmers may find Perl a little unorganized and messy, as it is free, and developers can add features if they wish. On the other hand, Ruby is a well-organized programming language.
Conclusion
Perl is quite an old language, starting its journey eight years before Ruby did. So, in terms of community support, the availability of libraries for any need, and documentation, Perl is far ahead of Ruby. Ruby has its merits in providing object-oriented features that help in keeping large code bodies maintainable.
So, both have some sort of merits and demerits. In the competition of Ruby vs Perl, the choice of language depends completely on the programmer.
