Re: [xml-dev] parsing markup with Perl

[Arjun Ray <arjun.ray@verizon.net>]

[Default] On Sat, 08 Feb 2014 14:43:46 +0000, Michael Kay
<mike@saxonica.com> wrote:

| I get the impression that Perl programmers use regexes as their 
| preferred way of performing almost any task, 

Not preferred.  Natural.  This is because regexes are basic to most
text-processing tasks.  Perl took regexes from AWK (which got the idea
from SNOBOL and other precursors, as to the centrality and ubiquity of
pattern matching) and flew with them.

| whereas in most other languages it's something people turn to 
| after considering other options.

Mainly because other languages were not aimed at text (or flat file)
processing to begin with as a primary consideration.

That said, not every task can be reduced to text processing...