[Catalyst] RFC: The paradox of choice in web development

[Stuart Watt]

I've actually done the reverse switch. Although I was a Perl developer =

for a good while, I previously used Apache::ASP and real ASP on Windows, =

with raw DBI and a hand-crafted search engine for most of this time. I =

then had to pick up Java and Spring with Hibernate for a while, for a =

second project. Since I started on my current task, which involved a =

large legacy code base in Perl, taking up Catalyst with DBIx::Class has =

been a great experience, as I get all the concepts from Spring and =

Hibernate with the development simplicity and CPAN assistance of Perl. =

Also, many of my colleagues have basic Perl, mostly pre-OO scripty =

style. Some of it is truly awful code!! Even they are beginning to see =

the flexibility that Catalyst has started to add into the development.

We're now trying to recruit additional staff, and as Catalyst is a rare =

(and pricey) skill, we're also looking at Java folks, ideally with some =

knowledge of Spring and Hibernate, as a good base to move into Catalyst.

There are still a few things I miss from Spring - notably the =

flexibility of its dependency injection for configuration. Configuration =

in Catalyst was actually far the hardest issue for me, and I still find =

it a little awkward. We began with YAMLs, and I still regret this from =

time to time. But this was an area where the examples were less detailed =

than helped the transition for me. Also, we found some highly =

inexplicable errors -- largely where Module::Pluggable loads everything =

in @INC, even when it is not where you expected. (PERL5LIB had been set =

to an old site, and loaded old components with different names.) For me, =

configuration is an area where the multiple alternatives really is a =

problem for Catalyst. My colleagues (and our clients) struggle with =

YAMLs. I'd rather one strongly preferred syntax was clearly set (and =

documented with detailed examples), although with an API that allows =

code to be used, through which others can be used for legacy apps.

All the best
Stuart


Dave Rolsky wrote:
> On Tue, 17 Feb 2009, bill hauck wrote:
>
>> I'm trying to put together a project to rewrite a job tracking =

>> database currently running in FileMaker.  The functionality and scope =

>> of the job tracking system has changed so instead of throwing more =

>> money in a proprietary, closed system that requires a costly =

>> application on each desktop I'm suggesting writing it as a web =

>> application with Perl & Catalyst.  The only problem is that I've been =

>> told we would have to use Java & Struts since it's our "corporate =

>> standard" for web applications. Perl, ironically, is used in quite a =

>> few places in the company, mainly in utility scripts.  However, since =

>> we don't have anyone whose job title is "Perl developer" we can't use =

>> it for web applications.
>
> This is hardly unreasonable.
>
> I've worked at a number of smaller shops where we were developing a =

> Perl-based app. If a developer had decided that they wanted to throw =

> together some important tool in Java (or Python or Haskell or =

> Smalltalk or ...), that would have been problem.
>
> The investment in a language is bigger than just the programmers, =

> even. You have build & deployment tools, automated testing setups (you =

> do, don't you? ;), sysadmin knowledge, packaging infrastructure, and =

> so on.
>
> Some of that may be language-agnostic, but often a lot of it ties into =

> the language and its tools.
>
> Once you've made that investment, it makes sense to stick with it. =

> Just because Catalyst and Perl are great tools for webapps doesn't =

> mean that they're the _right_ tool at your job.
>
>
> -dave
>
> /*=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
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> http://VegGuide.org               http://blog.urth.org
> Your guide to all that's veg      House Absolute(ly Pointless)
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
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-- =

Stuart Watt
ARM Product Developer
Information Balance
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