Top Level Module Namespace Table

Xiong has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Naming Perl modules is a subset of Choosing Identifiers, with all that entails. Some general guidelines exist (and yes I've read them). Authors who intend to upload to CPAN are encouraged to submit modules to modules@perl.org for review and suggestions on naming. CPAN Search itself does, of course, give helpful hints by example. But all this does not take the place of a straightforward top level module namespace table.

I gather that most experienced Perlers see no need for this table; they say, in essence, "It's obvious what to call a new module. If it works with GD, put it under the GD:: namespace."

I've discussed this table in several places and got comments in return that suggest I'm not being clear. So, here I insert a sort of stub or dummy of exactly what I seek:

This is not a real table. Do not use. Do not copy.

In the interest of terseness, words like "module(s)", "about", "related", "manipulate", and "interface with" are usually omitted.

Namespaces marked ('*') are deprecated, or probably should be deprecated.


Acme::              Joke and humor. Not for production code. 

Algorithm::         Algorithms, somewhat mathematical, that
                      don't fit into other cats. 

Alien::             Perl modules that install non-Perl code. 

Apache::            Apache web server. 

Astro::             Astronomy, star charts. 

...

Bundle::            Modules to install sets of other modules. 

Business::          Handling money or time, mostly within 
                      the Western, white-collar office life. 

Carp::              Report errors from caller's location. 

Catalyst::          Catalyst web application framework. 

CGI::               Common Gateway Interface.

CLI::               * see Getopt::

Config::            Configuration files. 

Crypt::             Cryptography. 

Data::              * 

...

Getopt::            Command line processing. 

GPS::               Global Positioning System.

HTML::              HyperText Markup Language generation. 

Image::             Images, graphic files (GIF, JPEG, PNG, etc.) 
                      Also PerlMagick/ImageMagick. 

IO::                Input/Output (but see also File::). 

...
[download]

You get the point.

If such a table exists, please be so kind as to push me that way. If not, I'll take suggestions on how to nurture its creation. At this point, I'm starting to think that this table does not exist; and my first thought is to set up a wiki page for the purpose.

Comment on Top Level Module Namespace Table Select or Download Code

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Old_Gray_Bear (Bishop) on Feb 04, 2010 at 12:05 UTC
I'd be minded to build a Perl Module out of it and load it into the CPAN:: name space. A cursory look at CPAN didn't turn up your table, but talking to the CPAN testers/maintainers (barbie and ask come immediately to mind) might also be useful. ---- I Go Back to Sleep, Now. OGB	[reply]
Re: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Anonymous Monk on Feb 04, 2010 at 12:21 UTC
Search trumps lists :) http://search.cpan.org/modlist/ http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-category/	[reply]
Re^2: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Anonymous Monk on Feb 04, 2010 at 12:23 UTC
Parse::CPAN::Modlist	[reply]
Re^3: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Xiong (Hermit) on Feb 05, 2010 at 14:14 UTC
Amazing how difficult it is for me to express myself precisely on this issue! I thought an example would be explicit. Sorry. Please allow me to attempt to improve. I'm well acquainted with CPAN Search; it's a great tool. I'm not sure how much an ordinary dev will want to use `Parse::CPAN::Modlist`; but that's cool. Both of these are solutions to the problem of I want to download a module that does This. They are statements of what is. This is a common problem and an important one; but it's not the issue I'm attempting to address. The table I seek is not descriptive but prescriptive. This is where the markers for deprecated namespaces come in.* This table goes no further than the top level of namespaces, perhaps some well-defined second levels (e.g., `CGI::Application::`). It's a statement of what should be. Reviewing the descriptions of existing modules is indeed a way to infer prescriptions for future efforts, I admit. By the same token, one course of bricks is a guide to placing the next. Yet, if we want a wall to stand neatly, we generally use a plumb line. I realize that I touch upon philosophical issues here.** My feeling is only that I will be more comfortable writing modules -- even modules that may never escape from my own project -- that are named in conformance with some plan. I'm coming rapidly to the belief that no such table exists (I'd like to be wrong!) and that creating it is a worthwhile project. I wrote the original node in hopes that Monks might suggest a good way to get it started. * Read more... Deprecated Namespaces (697 Bytes) ** Read more... Philosophical Discursion (1459 Bytes)	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^4: Top Level Module Namespace Table by ELISHEVA (Prior) on Oct 04, 2012 at 10:35 UTC
Re^5: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Xiong (Hermit) on Nov 04, 2012 at 02:54 UTC
Re^4: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Bill.Costa (Acolyte) on Mar 07, 2020 at 17:52 UTC
Re^5: Top Level Module Namespace Table by stevieb (Canon) on Mar 07, 2020 at 19:49 UTC
Re^4: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Bill.Costa (Acolyte) on Mar 07, 2020 at 18:01 UTC
Re: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Anonymous Monk on Mar 07, 2020 at 20:46 UTC
I gather that most experienced Perlers see no need for this table Welcome to the Perl Bubble. Your idea is so obvious, necessary, and useful that many otherwise brilliant people will under- or over-think it into oblivion. CPAN would be vastly friendlier if it was browsable via an ontological index. There are such indexes but alas they are not maintained, perhaps you should volunteer to fix that oversight? https://www.cpan.org/modules/by-category/ https://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/ https://www.cpan.org/scripts/index.html	[reply]
Re^2: Top Level Module Namespace Table by LanX (Saint) on Mar 07, 2020 at 21:33 UTC
Actually we just had an ontology expert at the GP(R)W.� The most memorable quote from this conference was from his talk: "Vocabulary is like worn underwear, nobody wants to reuse it from someone else." But I'll ask him if he thinks automating an ontology is really feasible in CPAN. Cheers Rolf _{(addicted to the Perl Programming Language :) Wikisyntax for the Monastery} �) apparently is Perl the dominating language in German library IT systems ...	[reply]
Re^2: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Your Mother (Archbishop) on Mar 07, 2020 at 20:51 UTC
You�re replying to a 10 year-old node from a monk who has been absent for 6 years. :P Module curation does sound like a really good idea.	[reply]
Re^3: Top Level Module Namespace Table by Anonymous Monk on Mar 08, 2020 at 07:10 UTC
You�re replying to a 10 year-old node from a monk who has been absent for 6 years. I'm just jumping on the bandwagon after some other anon resurrected the node. As for the whereabouts of OP, who really knows? I've had accounts on this site that make it look like I've been absent for well over a decade. But the OP is irrelevant now that LanX has been inspired to consult an ontology expert on the feasability of fixing CPAN. I know it's feasable because I've implemented an automated ontology to browse thousands of installed modules, which I use daily, and would feel somewhat lost without. Module curation does sound like a really good idea. That's what I wanted to hear! Thank you for listening.	[reply]


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