Perl Hosting Query

[perlron]

Hi Monks, I am a perl developer based out of india.

Some of us are still using perl for CGI in 2014! I also am getting projects where i would like to use DBI,DBD::Mysql as well. While my hosting provider Net4.in provides perl 5.10 with Mysql DB for a very affordable rate, it does not go the distance of allowing me to install modules like Moose, Dancer , DBI yada yada, let alone perl 5.20.

This is causing me to 1.facepalm and 2.force me to think of using PHP which is a paradigm shift in my business model as a perl entreprenuer.

Can you recommend a hosting provider who you think is the best for perl hosting with any Database support(preferreably PGSQL,Mysql in that order). OpenShift is great but they are on 5.10, provide SSH to install from CPAN BUT i need a credit card with US/CANADA billing address to use anything that is non-free.Besides they are not a conventional hosting company i guess. Net4.in is good but they provide only perl5.10 and MysQL DB for a very affordable package. Others i have tried are ZnetLive and GODaddy and BigRock(i dont have much idea about the last two..but in all likelihood they will not support 5.20) What about ActiveState ? Do they provide hosting ?

<Aug 8 2014 update> I find that a cost effective solution is to use a Cloud based PAAS offering which offers perl and DB support in tandem with host forwarding via CNAME records. This provides a seamless way to offer perl solutions to customers from countries where hosting companies charge a premium for perl support. <update>

[moritz]

In your place, I'd rent a virtual machine / VPS on a cheap provider like digitalocean; you can host projects for several clients on the same machine, if they don't have too high demands in terms of bandwidth, database etc. And if they have higher demand, you can charge more for it.

[perlron]

this really sounds like a good idea.

[boftx]

I would also look into local::lib to be able to install modules that your host doesn't have/allow, as well as perlbrew to install a different Perl if it is needed.

[scorpio17]

Pair Networks hosts this site. They provide a variety of hosting plans.

[perlfan]

If you want to do modernish Perl web development in CGI space, then I'd go with CGI::Application. "Modern" frameworks typically require you to use some sort of proxying to a backend service/port.

Shared hosting plans will make it difficult for you to have the control of ports and proxying that you seek.

You can also look at maintaining your own server in the cloud, e.g., Linode.

Finally, if you want to take a look at hosts that will definitely have Perl on their system one way or another, you can look at https://partnernoc.cpanel.net/. Keep in mind the majority of these places provide shared hosting, but there shouldn't be too many restrictions in place to you setting up your own Perls using local::lib and perlbrew other than disk space restrictions in that environment.

(disclosure, I work for cPanel)

Update:

FWIW, in the spirit of dog food eating I have my own WHM server that I use for application development rather than for shared hosting. It's a pretty nice way to go if you tend to want to various personal projects going at the same time rather than use it strictly for providing shared hosting accounts. You can do that, too; but having full control over the server is nice. Some applications are CGI/CGI::Application, some are Dancer; some are UI, some are RESTful services. From someone else, what you get just depends on how much control you can wrestle from your shared hosting provider. If you are your own shared hosting provider, then the sky is the limit. WHM gives me about 99.9% of what I need for this purpose, including DB management.

[Corion]

All PSGI-compatible "frameworks" work as CGI when run via Plack::Handler::CGI. Of course you lose the fancy stuff like Server Sent Events or WebSockets.

[Your Mother]

CGI::Application is perfectly cromulent but I think it’s not good advice at this time. It’s a step up from CGI but anyone who was doing best practices with CGI, dispatch tables and request cycle oriented code, was already doing most of what CGI::App does. There are many frameworks now that are superior and easier after the learning curve is done. Including but not limited to Catalyst, Mojolicious, Amon2, and (not my pick but a lot of devs like it) Dancer.

Disclosure, I like cPanel. :P

[perlron]

this is intense. thanks

[tangent]

I have been using Pair Networks for over 10 years and they really are top-notch, though not cheap. They have many CPAN modules already installed including Moose and DBI - see the list here.

[Your Mother]

While Pair is a great option and it’s nice to reward them for hosting PM, I think that considering what’s installed for Perl while host shopping is a mistake. You should never rely on what the host has for anything except maybe command line work and one-offs. It’s too easy to have your own stable libs and perl and likewise too easy for a host upgrade to wreck your sites and cronjobs without warning. I learned this the hard way repeatedly.

[perlron]

nothing short of amazing, is the modules list. Pair seems to be worth trying.. thank you.