Not trying to be sarcastic here but let me try to get straight what you are saying:
1)Application standpoint -> Perl's bad
2)Programming language -> Perl's bad
3)Advanced scripting language -> Perl does that really, really well.
So I assume that 1 and 2 are more or less the same. Programming languages are used for applications and Perl is not a real programming language and thus bad for building applications. Not trying to put words in your mouth here but just making sure I understand you.
On the other hand Perl is great at advanced scripting.
Don't you think that the line between advanced scripting and an 'application' can sometimes be very thin? Do you see them always as very far apart?
What do you think about what seems to be the rising popularity of scripting languages? Is it possible that some users think that programming languages for applications might be beautiful but aren't always as practical as advanced scripting languages? I realize I could be wrong about the 'rising popularity' of scripting languages. It's based more on what I read than on actual experience. Still it does at least look like there is a trend towards dynamic scripting languages.