Env::Array in ActivePerl but not on CPAN

[szabgab]

The first time I encountered the Env::Array module when I received a sample code from a client. I did not know that module but it is not that surprising, after all there are nearly 10,000 modules on CPAN already.

I did not have it on my Linux machines and as I tried to install it, I could not get far. As it seem this module does not exist any more. According to this note the module was made obsolete back in 5.6.0.

My first thought was that the client might be still using some ancient version of Perl (yeah, I know, bad reflexes, but I encountered so many such cases). After some further Google-ing I found this link on ActiveState Env::Array I don't have ActivePerl installed here but I guess that's there in the AP distribution.

This is the first time I encounter a case where there is a module in ActivePerl that is not on CPAN.

Are there more such cases?
Is there something we should do about this?
My immediate issue is of course that I cannot try the clients code without modification but...
Can we take this (and probably similar) modules from the ActivePerl distro and upload to CPAN?
Should we?

[choedebeck]

This is a problem that is common any time there are two repositories. They are just going to get out of sync at some point in time. On to your questions:

Are there more such cases? My guess is probably, but I have never come across any.

Is there something we should do about this? In my opinion, if anything should be done, the deprecated module should be taken out of the ActiveState distribution, but seeing as we don't have control of that distribution there isn't much we can do.

Can we take this (and probably similar) modules from the ActivePerl distro and upload to CPAN? Sure, but I don't see why we should. This would just further perpetuate the deprecated module. In your case I would try getting an ActiveState build and run your clients script through that.

[szabgab]

yes, I am downloading it now.
Actually this will be a good reason to try ActivePerl on Linux.

I wonder if I should discourage the client from using this module so their code won't depend on ActivePerl.

[choedebeck]

It would be good to discourage people from using this module, but as whether you should discourage your client from using it depends on your relationship with the client.

[Aristotle]

Well, if you look at the Env::Array docs, you will find it does exactly what the core module Env also does, and as far as I can tell with a quick glance, they have the same interface. I guess Env::Array was simply subsumed into Env at some point.

I don’t think there’s any general lesson to be taken from this case.

[randyk]

I don't have ActivePerl installed here but I guess that's there in the AP distribution.

I have three Win32 ActivePerl versions: 638 (perl-5.6.1), 802 (perl-5.8.0), and 815 (perl-5.8.7), and none have the Env::Array module. Probably the Env::Array documentation is there for the benefit of users of older ActivePerls before the module became obsolete.

Can we take this (and probably similar) modules from the ActivePerl distro and upload to CPAN? Should we?

Unless there's an explicit copyright statement accompanying the module, it would probably be a good idea to ask ActiveState about this. As ActivePerl for some time has been built from the standard Perl sources and CPAN modules, probably the only modules in ActivePerl that would be of general interest that aren't already on CPAN are PPM (Programmer's Package Manager, v 3) modules and the ActivePerl DocTools used to build and maintain HTML documentation. However, my understanding is that these particular modules aren't available for distribution outside of ActivePerl.

[ysth]

Can we take this (and probably similar) modules from the ActivePerl distro and upload to CPAN? Should we?

You'd have to consult with the author. Presumably he had a reason for removing it from CPAN. The module is still available on backpan. (Assuming that's the same module; I guess there's a possibility he removed his CPAN version because of a different module with the same name in ActivePerl.)

[DaWolf]

Just my 2 cents:

There's a linux distribuition of ActivePerl, and they got even in RPM and DEB packages =)

Not the best solution (I personally wouldn't like to have more than one Perl interpreter on my machine), I know, but maybe you will be forced to use the module, so...

< UPDATE > Have anyone warned ActiveState about this issue?

Best regards,

[belg4mit]

For anyone else wondering, Env::Array has been deprecated in favor of Env.

[radiantmatrix]

In the source for Env, I note there is a line that reads:

package Env::Array;

So it would seem that Env::Array is simply part of the Env module.