how did perl gain a reputation for being a write-only language
Write-only language Languages that are often derided as write-only include APL, Dynamic debugging technique (DDT), Perl,[3] Forth, Haskell, Text Editor and Corrector (TECO),[4] Mathematica and regular expression syntax used in various languages. Attributes that these languages have in common include a large set of operators and a syntax which encourages, or at least permits, the writing of very dense code. Some also have syntaxes which are very different from other languages, and some use different characters sets. The code below for example is Conway's Game of Life as written in APL2:[5]
Assembly language Assembly languages, like most other computer languages, allow comments to be added to program source code that will be ignored during assembly. Judicious commenting is essential in assembly language programs, as the meaning and purpose of a sequence of binary machine instructions can be difficult to determine. The "raw" (uncommented) assembly language generated by compilers or disassemblers is quite difficult to read when changes must be made.