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+.\" ========================================================================
+.\"
+.IX Title "Module::Install::Philosophy 3"
+.TH Module::Install::Philosophy 3 "2009-05-27" "perl v5.8.7" "User Contributed Perl Documentation"
+.SH "NAME"
+Module::Install::Philosophy \- The concepts behind Module::Install
+.SH "SYNOPSIS"
+.IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
+This document describes the personal philosophy behind the creation of
+\&\fBCPAN::MakeMaker\fR (the predecessor of \fBModule::Install\fR). The views
+expressed here belong to Brian Ingerson; if they are not of interest to
+you, you can safely ignore this document.
+.SH "I HAVE A DREAM"
+.IX Header "I HAVE A DREAM"
+I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and
+frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply
+rooted in the Perl Module dream.
+.PP
+I have a dream that one day this community will rise up and live out the
+true meaning of its creed: \*(L"We hold these truths to be self\-evident:
+that all Perl authors are created equal.\*(R"
+.PP
+I have a dream that one day even the state of the \f(CW\*(C`CGI::\*(C'\fR namespace, a
+desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will
+be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
+.PP
+I have a dream that my four modules will one day live in an archive
+where they will not be judged by the number of their prerequisites but
+by the content of their source code.
+.PP
+I have a dream today.
+.SH "DESCRIPTION"
+.IX Header "DESCRIPTION"
+The above is obviously a mutation of the monumental speech by great
+Martin Luther King (<http://web66.coled.umn.edu/new/MLK/MLK.html>).
+While the contexts are vastly different, I feel that there are some
+serious parallelisms.
+.PP
+The \s-1CPAN\s0 has become a place that is not free of injustice. This
+situation has arisen not out of directed oppression, but from a failure
+of our community to keep its tools sharp. It is the culmination of many
+small decisions made in the name of practicality. This is a sad state
+for an institution that was created to allow all interested people to
+contribute equally to the best of their ability.
+.PP
+This assertion is rooted in my personal experience as an author. When I
+created my first Perl module, Inline.pm, I knew that I had done
+something important. But how was I to make a dent in vast Perl
+community?
+.PP
+As a complete unknown in the Perl community, my voice did not travel
+far. I repeatedly tried to get even an acknowledgment from the gurus
+familiar with \s-1XS\s0. No success. I resorted to sending messages with
+ridiculous subjects to \f(CW\*(C`modules@perl.org\*(C'\fR.
+(<http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing\-lists/modules/2000\-08/msg00078.html>)
+No response. Through sheer determination and shameless self-promotion I
+eventually got the word out, and I hope the world is a slightly better
+place for it.
+.PP
+Since then, Inline has won awards and I have had the privilege to meet almost
+all of Perl's finest. But I still remember the pain of starting out, and
+want to help invite more people into this wonderful world.
+.PP
+One thing I have learned from experience is that the Perl community (and
+throw in the Python and Ruby people as well) is a small drop in the vast
+ocean of programming. It's a giant pot of Java out there; and a sea of
+C. Perl may not be the biggest fish, but with some care and cunning we
+could become a much bigger school.
+.PP
+These are the current problems that I see with \s-1CPAN\s0 and the core modules:
+.IP "* New Modules don't help Older Perls" 4
+.IX Item "New Modules don't help Older Perls"
+If I were to guess what percent of all Perl5 installations were at the
+current release level (5.8.0 in October 2002) I would say 3\-5%. That may
+even be generous. I'd say that over 40% of installations might still be
+at 5.005 or earlier.
+.Sp
+The biggest problem with adding a module to the core is that it only
+helps a small subset of Perl users for a long long time. Worse yet, a
+good module author will still probably avoid using the core additions as
+prerequisites, because they want their new module to work as well on
+5.005 as on 5.8.
+.Sp
+CPAN::MakeMaker should be able to help in this regard. For example,
+instead of putting Inline.pm into the core for 5.9, I can now
+effectively get it into the core for every version of Perl that
+Inline supports.
+.IP "* Author Exclusiveness" 4
+.IX Item "Author Exclusiveness"
+Not just anybody can get a module into the core. It seems you have to
+know people in high places. If I were a brilliant new talent with a
+great new module, it would have a harder time getting the ear of the
+pumpking, then if I were, say, Damian Conway. In fact, I probably
+wouldn't even know where to start.
+.IP "* Reduced Competition" 4
+.IX Item "Reduced Competition"
+One comment I've heard from some very good Perl programmers is
+\&\*(L"Everything important has already been done\*(R". Their feeling is that
+even though a module is suboptimal, it would be a waste of time to
+write a competing module. Who would use it instead of the one already
+in the core?
+.Sp
+When I write a competing module, I know that I have to make it at least
+twice as good as the existing one to even get noticed. That's not a bad
+thing, but should everybody be forced into that situation?
+.Sp
+For example, let's say that you have created a really useful \s-1CGI\s0 script.
+Let's also say that it makes use of your own \fBCGI::Special\fR module,
+because \fB\s-1CGI\s0.pm\fR doesn't meet your needs. Even though your script might be
+generally useful and worth sharing, the fact that it requires a
+non-standard module can only negatively affect its acceptance. Trying to
+get general acceptance for the superior \fBCGI::Special\fR module will be
+harder still.
+.Sp
+Core modules are assumed by the general public to be \*(L"Best of Breed\*(R".
+While this may be true for some modules at some point in time, it keeps
+talented people from attempting to \*(L"breed\*(R" something better.
+.IP "* Core Bloat" 4
+.IX Item "Core Bloat"
+Every time we add a module to the core it gets bigger and bigger. And we
+can't ever remove modules from the core, once they've been added.
+.Sp
+If I had my druthers, we'd remove all modules from the core that weren't
+necessary for either running Perl or installing modules. Of course, we'd
+need to set things up so that installing modules was so easy, that it
+could be done on the fly if necessary. Is this easily accomplishable?
+Nope. Is it impossible? Nope. We have the best language in the world to
+help us do it!
+.IP "* Maintenance Bitrot" 4
+.IX Item "Maintenance Bitrot"
+Believe it or not, Perl authors can sometimes acquire a \*(L"Life Beyond
+Perl\*(R". They get families or new hobbies or even hit by a bus. (This
+would be a \*(L"Death Beyond Perl\*(R".) The fact is, that once somebody writes
+a piece of code and shares it with the world, they are expected to
+maintain it for all time.
+.Sp
+That is being generous. There are others that think that once their
+module has become popular or made it into the core, they don't need to
+keep fixing and improving it. I have personally been guilty of this sin.
+.Sp
+And then there's the Damian Conway Effect. This plagues the exceptional
+authors who are so innovative and prolific they simply don't have time
+to maintain everything they have written.
+.PP
+I initially formalized these opinions at the \s-1YAPC\s0 (Yet Another Perl
+Conference) in June 2001. Since then I have been trying to think of
+technological solutions to fix these social problems.
+.PP
+One idea was dubbed \s-1NAPC\s0. \s-1NAPC\s0 is \s-1CPAN\s0 backwards. It is a large system
+of precompiled modules that can be installed on the fly, with the goal
+of reducing the number of modules in the core. \s-1NAPC\s0 hasn't got started
+yet. I'd still like to do it someday, but it's a big problem with a lot
+of issues.
+.PP
+\&\fBCPAN::MakeMaker\fR (and now \fBModule::Install\fR) on the other hand, is
+simple and ultimately flexible. It should work with all of the existing
+\&\s-1CPAN\s0 processes without requiring any changes from them. And new features
+can be continuously added. Even though it doesn't scratch all of my
+philosophical \s-1CPAN\s0 itches, it's a good start.
+.SH "CONCLUSION"
+.IX Header "CONCLUSION"
+This is all just food for thought. Take it with a pinch of salt.
+.SH "AUTHOR"
+.IX Header "AUTHOR"
+Brian Ingerson <INGY@cpan.org>
+.SH "COPYRIGHT"
+.IX Header "COPYRIGHT"
+Copyright (c) 2002. Brian Ingerson.
+.PP
+This document is free documentation; you can redistribute it and/or
+modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
+.PP
+See <http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html>
projects / catagits/Gitalist.git / blobdiff