We recap the main events that happened throughout 2024 in the Perl world as explored by IProgrammer.

And let's begin with the announcement of v5.40.0 out on June 9th, and covered in Perl v5.40.0 Shows That It Is Too Resilient To Die:

Having faced doubt, debate and insecurity, Perl is still going after all those years, alive, kicking and making releases. Business as usual.

The release of 5.40.0 was a cumulative effort by the Perl 5 maintainers team. It came with some new features and some others which matured into production status.

Not far ahead, the Perl and Raku Conference 2024 took place in Las Vegas between June 24-28. Five days packed with great sessions which were recorded and released to Youtube as a playlist. We suggested a few sessions to watch first. One of those was on Perl's intersection with AI in the session "PerlGPT, A Code Llama LLM Fine-Tuned For Perl":

PerlGPT is a large language model (LLM) based off Meta's Code Llama that was trained on Perl code so that it can automatically read and write Perl source code to become a Perl programmer's sidekick.

At the same time we've looked at another powerful model that could potentially be fit as the backend of PerlGPT. As we've examined in IBM Launches The Granite Code LLM Series, the Granite collection has been trained on code written in 116 programming languages, including Perl, ranging in size from 3 to 34 billion parameters. As a matter of fact in the MultiPL-E: Multilingual Code Generation benchmark, it scored better for Perl against Code Lama.

Another conference, that of The London Perl and Raku 2024, happened on the 26th October. There were some great talks on the future of Perl, a more detailed look of what's new in Perl v5.40, Perl on AWS and how shops can attract and retain Perl developers.

Of course, one of the most anticipated additions to the language had to be Corinna, the new OOP core. While waiting for it, Perl Advent Calendar 2024 offered advice on how to go about OOP using MooseX::Extended.

IMHO at this point in time, the changes in the language won't play as much a role in attracting new blood, even if Corinna gets established. The language is great as it is and those who come in contact with it know what to expect and what to use it for, meaning that a new OO system might not be their primary concern. Instead I think, the focus should be directed to infrastructure that caters for enterprise mission critical applications, i.e Cloud Native.

While in its most simple form Cloud Native might just mean containerized applications and Kubernetes, which holds true for Perl applications too, Cloud Native also means microservices and response times in the sub-milisecond area, plus taking into account the startup/warmup times of the VM, something that interpreted languages without a JIT suffer. And who does all that hence the king of Cloud Native? Java of course.

That's why Flávio Glock's project PerlOnJava, descirbed as an implementation of the Perl programming language designed to run on the Java platform makes sense. I relay the most relevant excerpt about the subject from the IProgrammer interview I did with him in September:

NV:And finally a question about Perl. Having faced doubt, debate and insecurity, what is the current status and future outlook? Business as usual with new language releases or should we all be worried? In this modern era of the cloud, is after all the integration with modern backends like the JVM a prerequisite for Perl to stay alive and thrive?

FG:Perl’s current status reflects a mature, stable, and well-documented ecosystem, even though it may not be as popular as it once was. Like many technologies that once experienced rapid growth and then normalized, Perl is now in a "business as usual" phase. This doesn’t mean Perl’s future is dim—quite the opposite. Its stability makes it a reliable tool in countless applications, from system administration to web development, and its flexibility ensures it can evolve with modern needs.

In this cloud-driven era, integrating with modern backends like the JVM is crucial for Perl’s continued relevance. Projects like PerlOnJava demonstrate Perl's ability to adapt and thrive in a new landscape. By leveraging the JVM, Perl can access an extensive library ecosystem, take advantage of modern performance optimizations, and integrate more easily into enterprise-level solutions.

Looking ahead, Perl's future lies in its ability to intersect with modern platforms, like cloud services and containerized environments. With ongoing development, community engagement, and innovative integrations, Perl can find new relevance and potentially inspire new applications. There’s no reason to be worried—instead, it’s an exciting opportunity to reimagine how Perl can continue to be useful in today’s tech world.

The conclusion? PerlOnJava is not just a mere compiler project for Perl to Java compilation but a cornerstone for Perl's future if it wants to survive the modern era. Modernizing the language is great but modernizing the infrastructure and use cases has to become the primary target.

Modernization comes in other parts too like rebranding with a new logo. The decision was made under the following mindset as stated in Perl Advent Calendar 2024:

Perl could adopt a new camel logo—separate from the one used on O'Reilly's book cover—and use it as the official symbol for the Perl language. The goal would be to create a logo that represents not just the language but also the community, one that feels friendly and welcoming.

Other events deserving mention that happened last year were the Perl Toolchain Summit at Lisbon, the German Perl/Raku Workshop, CPAN Day, of course the Perl Camel awards whose recipient was Olaf Aldersand, while let's not forget the Perl Mongers meetings happening around the world.

But I would like to conclude with highlighting the marvelous presentation given by Perl's talisman Randal Schwartz, "Half My Life with Perl". It was hosted on Perl Advent Calendar 2024 and revolved around Randal's career which is interwoven with Perl's history and development.

And of course he talks about his books, including the legendary Learning Perl, the classic beginner's guide that is often referred to by its nickname "The Llama". This was something that brought memories back because it was on the 10 August 2011 that I reviewed his gem of a book in "In Praise of Perl and the Llama" and "Learning Perl, 6th Edition", which coincidently both read fine today as well:

The review, which can be read in full here, began with:

What? another book on learning Perl ? But,I thought that Perl was dead!

and concluded with:

If you are looking for an agile,modern,robust, truly multipurpose and multiplatform language as well as one that is dynamic (in attitude) and that will constantly surprise you no matter how many years of experience you possess or will possess, then this 6th edition of the legendary Llama book will provide you with a first class opportunity to start learning Perl.

Let's see what 2025 heralds but it already looks starting with a bang since both The German Perl/Raku Workshop and Perl and Raku Conference 2025 are already announced.

More Information

While You're Waiting for Corinna

A New Logo for Perl

Half My Life with Perl

London Perl & Raku Workshop 2024

German Perl/Raku Workshop 2024 

Related Articles

Perl and Raku Conference 2024 Sessions Now Available Online

Perl v5.40.0 Shows That It Is Too Resilient To Die

Flavio Glock On Perl, Java, Compilers And Virtual Machines

Learning Perl, 6th Edition

In Praise of Perl and the Llama 

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