[kamaal]

Perl 6, is a major incompatible release. Its like compressing years of deprecation cycles in one major release. Larry wall realized long back that a few problems with Perl 5 can be fixed with incremental releases.

I think there is CPAN compatibility mode, and Perl 5 programs are expected to run on Perl 6 compilers. Also Perl 6 is a total redesign but preserving the 'perl spirit' and its original design principles.

OTOH, Python is taking the path of incrementally correcting its problems at the expense of breaking compatibility as and when needed. The problem is every time you break backwards compatibility, you forcing an upgrade timeline on users and during that you are allowing rival languages and communities to flourish.

If people are using Python because it just 'works', then in its absence they will use something else too if it 'works'.

Me personally if I knew that a particular tool is going to continuously break my code base every now and then. I would avoid it all costs.

[chromatic]

I think there is CPAN compatibility mode, and Perl 5 programs are expected to run on Perl 6 compilers.

That's long been the plan, but the existing couple of proofs of concept have bitrotted. It won't happen any time soon.