Re^2: Distribution of Program and/or Module

You know, I was first thinking of IKEA myself as well. But if I buy something from IKEA, say a table, it comes with clear instruction how to assemble that specific table. And I can't use the parts to make something else.

Now, if I get something from CPAN, it's not "ready to assemble to do a specific task". Instead, it may provide some of the functionality you're seeking, but it can also be used to create something else. Ergo, Home Depot, and not IKEA.

And I do think CPAN is for more than modules. Luckely, the maintainers of CPAN think so as well, and named it CPAN, not CPMAN. If it would be just for modules, you wouldn't be able to get the perl sources from CPAN.

Comment on Re^2: Distribution of Program and/or Module

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Re: Distribution of Program and/or Module by b10m (Vicar) on Mar 10, 2005 at 15:23 UTC
I've only seen limited modules with really poor documentation. Let's, for example, take a look at HTML::TableExtract (yeah, table example ;) The module clearly is made for a specific goal, to extract data from HTML tables. The POD explains step by step how to set it up. Just like IKEA tables (although I appreciate the quality of HTML::TableExtract more than IKEA tables ;). IMHO, it'd be quite useless to just put up a ready made script (table) there that will grab info from some website. The POD is like the IKEA manuals, it'll help you set it all up. I wouldn't miss a night's sleep if CPAN decided to drop the handful of scripts the currently host. There are other sites for that. I firmly believe the Matt's (insert useful thingy here) script days are over. Ready made scripts hardly ever fit in real situations and thus usually need tweaking anyway. Might as well start from scratch. Sourceforge and the before mentioned Hotscripts are better suited places, in my opinion. -- b10m All code is usually tested, but rarely trusted.	[reply]
Re^2: Distribution of Program and/or Module by Anonymous Monk on Mar 10, 2005 at 16:30 UTC
Ready made scripts hardly ever fit in real situations Scripts are applications. Are you saying there's no market for applications? Modules only appeal to developers, which are just a tiny minority of the computer users. Anyway, I guess whenever you want to fetch a document using HTTP or FTP (for instance, because you want to read Perlmonks, or you want to download a module), you write a script using LWP::UserAgent. I prefer firefox, wget or GET, ready made applications (and in the case of GET, a perl script) most of the time. I only need LWP::UserAgent if I need to do something special. I firmly believe the Matt's (insert useful thingy here) script days are over. I really don't see your point here. Are you saying the "modules on CPAN are wonderful pieces of code - scripts on CPAN are filled with security holes"? Or what? Matt may have written lousy software, but it filled a need. Matt scripts would never had become a problem if there was an alternative. Ready made applications will always be in demand. Ready made scripts hardly ever fit in real situations and thus usually need tweaking anyway. Yeah, they are called command line options. Sourceforge and the before mentioned Hotscripts are better suited places, in my opinion. Huh? I fail to understand. You make several posts argueing against the idea of having ready made scripts at all, and then at the end, you come two sites that are "better suited places". I don't follow you at all anymore.	[reply]
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