Re^3: What sets Perl back

in reply to Re^2: What sets Perl back
in thread What sets Perl back

Add to this the unfathomable inability of CPAN.pm to download the MIRRORED.BY file. I've known CPAN.pm go through almost my whole list of mirrors failing to download the damned thing and when I've checked the URL the file is right there on the FTP server where it ought to be. Why is this allowed to go on? I can't be the only one going through this nonesense. As I said at the start this kind of thing is setting back the adoption of Perl. Developers who are not fully committed to doing whatever it takes to get Perl modules installed are going to eventually use something else. Perl will only have itself to blame if it becomes marginalised.

Comment on Re^3: What sets Perl back

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Re^4: What sets Perl back by jhourcle (Prior) on Dec 11, 2005 at 15:40 UTC
I have that problem with every new MacOS install, but the problem isn't with Perl, or even the OS ... it's my firewall. CPAN.pm tries to use Net::FTP, which MacOS has installed -- but it doesn't have a libnet.cfg file, and I'm behind a firewall which requires me to use passive FTP. In cases like this, it has nothing to do with the commitment of Perl devlopers, or the OS, or anyone else, but a knowledge of what my environment is. Every environment is different, and it is impossible for the developers to plan for every last possible permutation of configuration variables. They can get it so that things work most of the time, but once in a while, you actually have to look at the README files, and/or understand what the error messages are. I personally find that you can often get help with problems by asking for it -- if you present it as a general bitch about the community, you are much less likely to get the problem that you're having resolved. If you actually want to get the problem fixed, I would assume that you would phrase it slightly differently than just general complaining. It might feel good to vent, but I find it normally feels even better to get it fixed, and behind you.	[reply]
Re^5: What sets Perl back by gunzip (Pilgrim) on Dec 11, 2005 at 16:22 UTC
I don't think it's a matter of simply getting it fixed. That's why I've phrased it this way. There is a danger that developers who don't want the hassle of compiler error messages and working out the internals of CPAN.pm will simply opt for something else and Perl may become marginalised due to its poor packaging.	[reply]

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