I don't know how enlightened or clever this is, but I follow a fairly strict pattern of behavior whenever I run up against a new problem; go to search.cpan.org and type in all the relevant keywords I can think of. Spending the time looking through the list usually quickly establishes if I'm contemplating a new wheel or at the very least, a better way to go about my new wheel.

Following links to modules from responses to perlmonks and other discussions is also helpful, since it at least exposes me to modules I might otherwise not even think about.

Having said all that, I've actually been criticized before for consistently recommending CPAN modules on a project... it seems anyone can download and install modules, but real code monkeys hand code everything. I backed away slowly, in case sudden movement caused the critical overload of this person's synapses.

In reply to Re: Life beyond CGI and DBI by markguy
in thread Life beyond CGI and DBI by punchcard_don

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