How often does the data change? I have a somewhat similar problem with my module Number::Phone::UK. That relies on a data set that changes occasionally, and while it has only changed locations on me once, the format of the files changes more often.

I decided not to make users download and parse the data themselves. Instead, I do that every so often and distribute it myself. It's a lot less work for me, the process is easier to test, and it's more reliable for my users.

As for the format in which I distribute the data - none of the standard tools for packaging perl modules handle non-perl files at all well. Consequently, the data is buried in another module Number::Phone::UK::Data, as a DBM::Deep database in a __DATA__ segment.


In reply to Re: Modules dealing with data files by DrHyde
in thread Modules dealing with data files by grinder

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":



  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.