Re: Utility to install a perl module via apt with cpan fallback
On Jan 11, 2009, at 12:16 AM, Jonathan Yu wrote:
Jeremiah:
I think the intent of this one isn't to create the perl .deb package;
it's simply to select the appropriate .deb package if it already
exists in the mirrors, and simply fall back (as in the subject) to
CPAN-style installation.
Definitely, I am not disputing that. :) But the end result is the same
or roughly similar don't you feel? Or a step in that direction.
This is more for users than prospective developers.
But I think it perhaps warrants some work to make a machine that would
fetch CPAN modules and try to run dh-make-perl to construct .deb
packages from them. We could perhaps pick the top rated modules and
try to turn those into packages; for the ones that fail, it would flag
which ones might be more difficult to do.
Just some thinking out loud.
Good thinking! :)
This is something that I am working on as well; http://www.jeremiahfoster.com/debian/phalanx100-debian.html
What I have started to do is look at the feasibility of automated
package creation, only because I think it is inevitable and if it is
to be done it should be done right by people who understand debian.
(I'm not saying that I am the right person for the job, just that I'm
fooling around trying to get some info.) There already is a mechanism
to create packages with CPANPLUS and I think there are some problems
with the resulting packages that should be addressed. I think
automated package creation is asking for trouble, but as I mentioned,
it feels inevitable.
As far as the top-rated modules go, I think testing those is a really
good idea. Using those and maybe the phalanx 100, which is actually
more than 100, perl modules that perl considers a representative group
of modules. Creating an intermediate step between CPAN and debian
where we can run some automated tests on debs, modules, or potential
packages, might also be a useful place to spot bugs both in packages
and in perl which might be a service to both groups.
I can imagine, for example, a mini-cpan on an alioth-like machine.
That mini-cpan (all of the latest versions of CPAN) would get turned
into debs automatically, built in a cowbuilder, tested with linitan,
and have some additional testing framework that might be part of
CPANTS and/or a debian specific test suite. This partially debianized
CPAN might be the place where debian packagers go first to get a more
reliable module from CPAN and quickly get it into debian if it meets
human quality standards.
Even if this process does not make perfect debian packages, and I
doubt it ever could, and if it did, we need to impose human
intervention somehow, it will still be an excellent "testing ground"
for both modules and debs. Perl has always had an excellent reputation
for testing and debian has an excellent reputation for quality
assurance, perhaps we could create a tool or framework that would use
the strength of both these ecosystems to provide both easier system
administration, higher quality modules, and fewer perl bugs.
Jeremiah
Reply to: