[jeff_marshall]

I think there is still some nuance available.

Perl is great for succinct syntax, which is something I admire (who doesn't appreciate backtick for invoking another program?)

This same brevity is valuable in other contexts, but the challenge is in doing it and understanding the implications. So long as such mechanisms don't introduce hidden complexity (e.g. ';' in bash or it's equivalent), succint syntax has my vote. Working in C at a low level and still having to deal with integer overflow shows me that there is definately a middle ground w.r.t. expressivity and details. I'd be happy to see progress in this area.