I tried to get an LLM to write a Raku chapter in the same vein - naah. Had to write it myself:

Raku

Raku stands out as a fast way to working code, with a permissive compiler that allows wide expression.

Its an expressive, general-purpose language with a wide set of built-in tools. Features like multi-dispatch, roles, gradual typing, lazy evaluation, and a strong regex and grammar system are part of its core design. The language aims to give you direct ways to reflect the structure of a problem instead of building abstractions from scratch.

The grammar system is the clearest example. Many languages treat parsing as a specialized task requiring external libraries. Raku instead provides a declarative syntax for defining rules and grammars, so working with text formats, logs, or DSLs often requires less code and fewer workarounds. This capability blends naturally with the rest of the language rather than feeling like a separate domain.

Raku programs run on a sizeable VM and lean on runtime dispatch, which means they typically don’t have the startup speed or predictable performance profile of lower-level or more static languages. But the model is consistent: you get flexibility, clear semantics, and room to adjust your approach as a problem evolves. Incremental development tends to feel natural, whether you’re sketching an idea or tightening up a script that’s grown into something larger.

The language’s long development history stems from an attempt to rethink Perl, not simply modernize it. That history produced a language that tries to be coherent and pleasant to write, even if it’s not small. Choose Raku if you want a language that let's you code the way you want, helps you wrestle with the problem and not with the compiler.