If you haven't already, I highly suggest looking on metacpan.org for modules, and searching for highly rated[1] and recent ones. Things like Path::Tiny[2], Try::Tiny[3] and Function::Parameters[4] can make a huge difference in productivity and readability. Task::Kensho[5] is also useful for getting a good base set of medern modules to choose from for many tasks.

1: https://metacpan.org/favorite/leaderboard

2: https://metacpan.org/release/Path-Tiny

3: https://metacpan.org/release/Try-Tiny

4: https://metacpan.org/pod/Function::Parameters

5: https://metacpan.org/pod/Task::Kensho

I'll take a look at these, thanks. :)

If you planned on using objects, you can consider using Moo for roles to allow composition, and combining it with Types::Tiny for type validation. There's also Params::Validate for plain functions.

The validation is unfortunately at runtime, but at least you get a clear error instead of unanticipated behavior. Moo (and it's bigger parent, Moose) can really help you structure your application better using roles.

https://metacpan.org/pod/Moo https://metacpan.org/pod/Type::Tiny

Edit: Don't use Params::Validate; kbenson's recommendation for Function::Parameters looks awesome!

There is also Kavorka[1] as an alternative to Function::Parameters, which can use Type::Tiny types in signatures. The next step after that is Moops[2]...

[1] https://metacpan.org/pod/Kavorka

[2] https://metacpan.org/pod/Moops

You may be able to get them to update to at least 5.18.0 if you tell them about CVE 2013-1667 and all the mitigations added to 5.18.0 to prevent them.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=CVE+2013-1667&ia=about

http://blog.booking.com/hardening-perls-hash-function.html

I would also recommend reading "Modern Perl" which is made available for free by the publisher/author at http://modernperlbooks.com/

( Also there are large codebases written in Perl ( I beleive booking.com is an example )

I also recommend installing the Perl you are using outside of the system directories. You may also find Pinto and https://Stratopan.com useful for managing your dependancies. Which is especially useful if you make your codebase modular.

I've written Python systems several tens of thousands of lines long. I don't think dynamicity has anything at all to do with a language's suitability for large projects (but if it did, I'd lean toward it making maintenance easier).

@tbrownaw... Do you mix Perl and Progress 4GL? Care to get in touch?

A little bit, yes. Contact info is in my profile now.