NAME¶
Module::Install::Philosophy - The concepts behind Module::Install
SYNOPSIS¶
This document describes the personal philosophy behind the creation of
CPAN::MakeMaker (the predecessor of
Module::Install). The views
expressed here belong to Brian Ingerson; if they are not of interest to you,
you can safely ignore this document.
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.
I have a dream that one day this community will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all
Perl authors are created equal."
I have a dream that one day even the state of the "CGI::" namespace, a
desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
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.
I have a dream today.
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.
The CPAN 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.
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?
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
XS. No success. I resorted to sending messages with ridiculous subjects to
"modules@perl.org".
(<
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.
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.
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.
These are the current problems that I see with CPAN and the core modules:
- •
- 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.
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.
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.
- •
- 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.
- •
- Reduced Competition
One comment I've heard from some very good Perl programmers is
"Everything important has already been done". 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?
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?
For example, let's say that you have created a really useful CGI script.
Let's also say that it makes use of your own CGI::Special module,
because CGI.pm 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 CGI::Special module will be
harder still.
Core modules are assumed by the general public to be "Best of
Breed". While this may be true for some modules at some point in
time, it keeps talented people from attempting to "breed"
something better.
- •
- 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.
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!
- •
- Maintenance Bitrot
Believe it or not, Perl authors can sometimes acquire a "Life Beyond
Perl". They get families or new hobbies or even hit by a bus. (This
would be a "Death Beyond Perl".) 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.
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.
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.
I initially formalized these opinions at the YAPC (Yet Another Perl Conference)
in June 2001. Since then I have been trying to think of technological
solutions to fix these social problems.
One idea was dubbed NAPC. NAPC is CPAN 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. NAPC hasn't got started yet. I'd
still like to do it someday, but it's a big problem with a lot of issues.
CPAN::MakeMaker (and now
Module::Install) on the other hand, is
simple and ultimately flexible. It should work with all of the existing CPAN
processes without requiring any changes from them. And new features can be
continuously added. Even though it doesn't scratch all of my philosophical
CPAN itches, it's a good start.
CONCLUSION¶
This is all just food for thought. Take it with a pinch of salt.
AUTHOR¶
Brian Ingerson <INGY@cpan.org>
COPYRIGHT¶
Copyright (c) 2002. Brian Ingerson.
This document is free documentation; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself.
See <
http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html>