Languages come and go. A few have the right stuff to rise to the top\u2014and fewer stay there. Perl had a spectacular rise, a quiet slump, and has now found its place in the world of programming.\n\nPerl seemed destined to rule the web. Michael Stevenson and Mike Bursell describe how Perl\u2019s design made it ideal for the early web. We hear from Conor Myhrvold about its motto: \u201cThere is more than one way to do it." Elizabeth Mattijsen shares how\u2014despite Perl\u2019s strength\u2014a long development cycle slowed Perl\u2019s growth. And although it\u2019s not the top web language anymore, John Siracusa points out that Perl lives on as a niche tool.