Really? This is interesting! I had completely written off Perl for Windows due to its heritage. But we still use COM objects in our scripts here and while I like PowerShell conceptually, I really never got to have fun with it as a scripting language. It just has so many quirks like “implicit returns” etc. and is just so verbose it’s bordering on hard to read at times.
While you can use them, I do not recommend it. The problem is when you want to convert a script into an EXE so not everybody has to install Strawberry Perl. Apparently some viruses are written in Perl because Windows Defender flags any exe you build as a virus and deletes it. Also, changing the application icon doesn't work, so you're always distributing a Camel app.
It's a shame too because as you say the Win32 API stuff works great up until the antivirus kicks you in the nads.
True, but people are going to be calling you, not Microsoft, when the app is instantly deleted when they download it. The worst part is that it isn't even consistent. It will be ok for a few months and then end up back on the virus list again.