Perl, a programming language that first appeared in 1987, is experiencing a bit of a revival. It’s now ranking higher on the Tiobe index, which tracks the popularity of programming languages worldwide. Just a year ago, Perl was sitting at 27th place, but this month, it’s up to 10th. Back in its heyday, Perl even reached as high as third place.

A lot of the recent attention around Perl seems to be linked to the number of books about it. According to Tiobe’s CEO, Paul Jansen, there are four times more Perl books listed on Amazon than PHP books, and seven times more than Rust books. This suggests that interest in learning Perl is growing, at least among those who want to read about it.

Jansen also mentioned that the real reason behind Perl’s resurgence might be something deeper. He thinks that many now see Perl 5 — the version released in 1994 — as the “real” Perl. This is interesting because, in the past, there was a lot of confusion with Perl 6, which was released in 2015 and later renamed Raku. For decades, Perl 6/Raku was seen as a separate language, which caused some uncertainty in the community. Meanwhile, Perl 5 continued to be used and developed quietly in the background.

During those years, development on Perl 5 slowed down. Many programmers who once used Perl moved on to other languages, especially Python, which gained popularity quickly. Python’s rise was partly because it was easier to learn and use, and it had a growing ecosystem. This shift left Perl in a bit of a lull, with its community uncertain about its future.

Now, it seems that Perl might be getting a fresh look. The perception that Perl 5 is the “true” Perl could be giving the language new relevance. Plus, the fact that there are so many books about it shows that there’s still a dedicated group of programmers interested in its features and history.

The Tiobe index uses data from various sources like Google, Bing, Wikipedia, and Amazon to gauge how popular each language is. It looks at factors such as the number of developers, courses, and vendors related to each language. For September 2025, the top languages included Python at nearly 26%, C++ at about 8.8%, and Java around 8.3%. Perl’s 2% might seem small, but its jump in ranking indicates renewed interest.

Another index, Pypl, measures how often people search for tutorials on different languages. In September 2025, Python was again the leader, with nearly 30% of searches. Languages like Java and C/C++ also ranked high. Perl, while not leading in searches, seems to have gained momentum in the programming community, possibly due to its renewed relevance and the growing number of educational resources.

The story of Perl’s comeback shows how perceptions can shift over time. Languages often go through cycles of popularity, influenced by community support, industry needs, and how easy they are to learn. With more books and a clearer identity as the “real” Perl, it’s possible that Perl will continue to find its place in the coding world in 2025 and beyond.

Inspired by

• https://www.infoworld.com/article/4053221/perl-programming-language-rises-again-tiobe.html

Sources

• gmpg.org
• tiobe.com
• github.io
• podigee.com
• podigee.com