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Re: How Many Modules Is Too Many?

by castaway (Parson)
on May 30, 2004 at 06:41 UTC ( [id://357565]=note: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??


in reply to How Many Modules Is Too Many?

I would think 70 is too many, but it depends on what exactly the module does. An actual application as a module I would expect to use a bunch more stuff than just another interim module for use by others.

There have been several occasions when I go to install a module and get stuck in a web of dependencies so that at some point Im not even sure why I started. Yes, I install modules by hand the old fashioned way, I like to know what I actually have installed and what things it uses. At about a depth of 3 or more than 5 or so extra in one depth, I give up, more often than not.

Whats more annoying though, is that there are modules that do essentially the same thing, for what ever reason (better wheels?) and modules on top of these that use only one of them. Thus requiring me to have several modules with the same functionality installed. I wish people would research more and attempt to interface with each other module that provides the functionality they want to use, and not just use the one they happened to have installed (but I guess I can wish all I want, unless I start pointing out specific cases to authors.. ,)

Also, look at your list, and deduct any and all CORE modules. How does it look now?

DBI.pm Ima/DBI.pm
Plus the actual Class::DBI modules.. Not very many.

As for the amount of memory these things take up, I find its usually justified, a module thats being used and developed by several people, or just tested by others, may have a function or two more than you need, but it will do the others better than anything one could put together alone.

.. How to find these good, well developed modules on CPAN, is another matter.. ;)

C.

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Re: How Many Modules Is Too Many?
by Abigail-II (Bishop) on May 30, 2004 at 10:01 UTC
    I would think 70 is too many, but it depends on what exactly the module does.
    I don't think in this case it's relevant what the module does. It depends on how much functionality the program is actually using. If you are pulling in 70 modules to do one little thing, than that could classify as "overkill". OTOH, if you program is using all the functionality of the 70 modules, than it's probably not overkill. (Although with OO programming, it's easy to write a ton of modules to implement one thing, using a long inheritance tree where every subclass does a tiny thing more than its superclass).

    Abigail

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