I'd like to (re)create the age-old address book application, but I'm not sure where to start. My first draft of the schema contains 3 tables:

• Person: first name, last name, etc
• Contact type (lookup): phone number, email address, IM handle, etc
• Person-Contact data: person ID, contact type ID, value, etc

Normally I'd set up the database and write a set of routines that contain the query, insert, update, etc functions that I need (using DBI, of course), but I'd like to try a shiny new module instead. I've perused Tutorials and searched CPAN, but my head is spinning. Class::DBI, DBIx::Abstract, DBIx::SQL::Abstract, SQL::Abstract, DBD::AnyData, DBIx::Simple, DBIx::Class, DBM::Deep... They all seem to solve slightly different parts of the problem, and I can't quite tell which are meant to be used together and which would be of most benefit.

Amid the plethora of db-related modules in CPAN, which ones are your favorite and why? How do you choose between them? Which might be most appropriate for a simple address book-like application? I hope TIMTOWTDI is alive and well, because I'd love to learn several different ways to approach this.

FWIW, I Super Searched and read threads such as Class::DBI vs. DBIx::Class, A brief survey of the DBI usability layer modules on the CPAN, and What's your favorite SQL generation module?, but things are still clear as mud. :-)

Finally, I'd also like a reasonable front end on it (more than a simple CLI). A complete web framework like Maypole, Catalyst or Jifty seems like overkill since it's for my own use. Is there something in between?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

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