[Catalyst] Wishlist for 2006!

[A. Pagaltzis]

Hi Bill,

* Bill Moseley <moseley at hank.org> [2006-01-06 20:25]:
>What about module-plugins or functional components? That is,
>higher level features that can be added to an existing Cat
>application.
>
>So, when you want user logins you install one package and then
>you have cookie sessions and controllers and templates for login
>and for users to manage their own "profile".
>
>Or components that adds a wiki, a blog, a calendar, or a CMS.

that never works out. Have a look at some proof in the pudding:

http://pinds.com/articles/2005/11/15/reuse-in-the-large-is-an-unsolved-problem-why-i-left-openacs-for-rails

Such components are never ever flexible enough to satisfy
specific requirements that differ from their exact out-of-the-box
setup. By the time such components were sufficiently
parametrisable they would be insanely complex and difficult to
configure.

The better approach, and the one proven to work in practice, is
to write libraries that take care of the plumbing required for
such applications, so that writing custom apps gets then easier.
Heck, Catalyst itself is proof of this principle at a lower
level.

Regards,
-- 
Aristotle Pagaltzis // <http://plasmasturm.org/>