Beefy Boxes and Bandwidth Generously Provided by pair Networks
Perl Monk, Perl Meditation
 
PerlMonks  

Re: CPAN Module Evaluation Red-Flags

by grantm (Parson)
on Jul 28, 2003 at 10:03 UTC ( [id://278376]=note: print w/replies, xml ) Need Help??


in reply to CPAN Module Evaluation Red-Flags

A number of examples have mentioned poor documentation, but the complete absence of documentation is far worse (four examples from today. If you can't even be bothered writing a README, why bother uploading? You only get one chance to make a first impression after all.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Re: CPAN Module Evaluation Red-Flags
by hardburn (Abbot) on Jul 28, 2003 at 13:41 UTC

    IMHO, the first impression people get of your module will be from the POD doc on one of the CPAN search sites (search. or kobesearch., take your pick). I usually don't bother to even look at the README, as in my experiance, most module authors only cut-and-paste what they put in their NAME and DESCRIPTION sections of their POD, plus a little installation note (which usually ends up being identical to every other module on CPAN).

    ----
    I wanted to explore how Perl's closures can be manipulated, and ended up creating an object system by accident.
    -- Schemer

    Note: All code is untested, unless otherwise stated

      I couldn't agree more. So when a module includes no POD and doesn't event include a README (like the ones cited), then you'd need to be fairly dedicated to carry on and work out what it's for.

Log In?
Username:
Password:

What's my password?
Create A New User
Domain Nodelet?
Node Status?
node history
Node Type: note [id://278376]
help
Chatterbox?
and the web crawler heard nothing...

How do I use this?Last hourOther CB clients
Other Users?
Others taking refuge in the Monastery: (3)
As of 2025-07-08 01:19 GMT
Sections?
Information?
Find Nodes?
Leftovers?
    Voting Booth?

    No recent polls found

    Notices?
    erzuuliAnonymous Monks are no longer allowed to use Super Search, due to an excessive use of this resource by robots.