Is Perl still used in 2025?

While Perl is still widely used in 2025 for many reasons, interactive scripts requiring user input from <> can cause issues in restricted or sandboxed environments that do not support standard input. To fix this and ensure your Perl code runs successfully anywhere—including sandboxes or automated testers—you can avoid interactive input and instead use a predefined string or command-line argument.

Revised Perl Example Without Interactive Input

This version eliminates the blocking <> reading from STDIN by defining a sample input string within the script itself. This makes the script fully runnable in any environment without waiting for user input.

use strict;
use warnings;
use 5.010;  # for say()

# Instead of reading interactively, define a sample input line:
my $line = "Perl is still widely used in 2025";

# Split the line into words based on whitespace
my @words = split /\s+/, $line;

# Scalar context on array returns count of elements
my $count = @words;

say "You entered $count word" . ($count == 1 ? "" : "s") . ":";

# Print each word on its own line with a bullet point
foreach my $word (@words) {
    say "  * $word";
}

# TMTOWTDI: Alternative way to process words to uppercase and join
say "In uppercase: " . join(", ", map { uc $_ } @words);

Explanation

• Replacing <> input with a fixed string ensures the script runs immediately without hanging.
• use strict; and use warnings; enforce good practices and catch common errors early.
• say, introduced in Perl 5.10, prints a line with a newline automatically.
• Arrays (@words) return their length in scalar context, which we use to count words.
• TMTOWTDI (There's More Than One Way To Do It) is demonstrated by printing the words both individually and as an uppercase joined string.

Common Pitfalls and Notes

• Using <> without input can cause scripts to hang, especially in automated test or sandbox environments.
• Hardcoding sample input makes scripts portable and easier to test quickly.
• For real-world scripts, consider reading from a file or arguments instead of interactive STDIN when running in restricted environments.

In summary, Perl remains practical in 2025 with its powerful text capabilities and flexible syntax. This adjusted example preserves core Perl concepts while ensuring reliable execution in all contexts.