Mathew Robertson <mathew.robertson@netratings.com.au> on Thu, 09 Mar 2006 15:00:22 +1100 wrote:
> Correct - and he has every right to make his own decisions.
> 
> That said, if I take a leaf from Linux kernel development or the Gentoo 
> package tree, I can easily overlay a snapshot branch of any package I 
> like, simply by setting an environmental variable.  The point being that 
> I can happily release my own version of H::T without breaking anyone 
> else's version.  And I can do this without forking the namespace.

You are mixing source trees with package releases again.

You can do all of that with any CPAN module too ! Infact you can even use almost the same tools that the linux kernel does - but in fact all you need is "patch".

What you are asking - putting it in Linux terms is this -

* Can I install the RedHat Linux Kernel Module - without effecting it or forking.

No - you really can't - it is a package, a snapshot, a single point in time.

You are trying to create a fork in time & space - well a patch on the source :-)

You can of course use CPAN to download the package, run patch with your code and you are done.

> Having looked at CPAN module install semantics, I was under the 
> impression that it was possible for two independent people to upload 
> their modules.  Then using the cpan shell, a user could fetch a specific 
> developer's version of a package, as in:
> 
> cpan>  install M/MA/Mathew/HTML-Template-2.8_01.tar.gz
> 
> thoughts?

I would strongly discourage that. You can - go for it, upload away, but it is then very hard for someone to know to install your version. And you have gained nothing over forking

Because what you have done above - is fork.
You just use the same name.

So you end up with the same amount of work - maintaining that fork, with none of the advantages (eg: easy install, appearing in CPAN search etc).

And you will most likely annoy people.

You should do one of the following:

* Maintain a separate fork (which you are proposing either way) with a new name
* OR Maintain a patch (ala the linux style you described above)

Don't confuse that last one with CPAN - If you go and wonload Linux 2.4.6 - you get Linux 2.4.6 - they are all the same in the world - you can then patch it or you can overlay with new files, or manually link in other bits, or use one of the many tools to help manage it - but it is the not Linux 2.4.6.

Scott