Provided by: libmodule-install-perl_1.06-1_all 
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
<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>