> code, it's own CSS , it's own images! There should be a well > established usage pattern so someone just downloads the grid module, > run the installer and it puts all the files in 'right' places. > Of course, it's not possible currently since everyone has a different > framework and different concept of 'right' place.
Doing this at the mod_perl level is probably one level too low. ASP.Net is not the equivalent of mod_perl. It is more like any one of the frameworks such as Catalyst, CGI::Application etc. These frameworks have defined plugin systems, so doing what you're talking about at that level makes sense. The Perl modules that exist give us great power and flexibility, but they come at the cost of integration. There is very little out there that is plug and play. Unlike PHP, where people release (eg) a bulletin board, or a webmail service etc. But my experience of the PHP side is that people take these stand alone pieces of functionality and stick them together with chewing gum. "We want a bulletin board AND a webmail client, both of which have their own user management system - well, we'll just build a bridge between them" - ends up as nasty nasty code. Because ASP.Net is centrally controlled, any new functionality MUST be integrated into The Framework before it is released. But with Perl, would we have anywhere near the level of creativity in available code if everybody had to conform to The One True Way? I doubt it. Build a good X module, and the Catalyst guys will build a wrapper to make it easy to integrate, as will the CGI::Application guys. And 100 people on this list will build their own wrappers so that it integrates with their own framework, which they've painstakingly designed to work in exactly the way that they want it to. And 98 of those frameworks will fall into neglect, but 2 of them will end up being released and used by others, who like the way that it does things. I think that's good. I like the way that works. Clint >
