Hi Chris, > I'm working on some new module development and I would like to make the > progress available via CPAN and for testing, I don't want to start claiming > package namespaces until things settle down. > > I thought I read somewhere that there is a way to have a "non-comittal" CPAN > module in the sense that there was a namespace that *would* allow one to > delete a module rather than having it in perpetuity?
Some suggestions: You could just create the module(s) in whatever namespace you think is right now, and mark it very clearly as alpha quality with anything and everything up for change. You could note it in the abstract and in the first paragraph of the DESCRIPTION. There is nothing to stop you deleting that module down the road, other than not wanting to pull the rug from under anyone. You could do all releases as developer releases. These will still be tested by CPAN Testers, but the fact that it’s a developer release further sends a message. The downside is that developer releases don’t appear on your author page on MetaCPAN, and are ‘invisible’ to the toolchain / ecosystem in various ways. You could put the modules in Acme::, which is another way of saying “you can’t rely on this in any way”. For example if you think the module is going to be Yak::Shave, you’d create Acme::Yak::Shave. If the name settles down, then you can release a non Acme version. Then down the road you can delete the Acme:: version. Neil
