[Mpls-pm] Frameworks and session management?

[David Naughton]

On Wed, Nov 08, 2006 at 04:55:09PM -0600, Ian Malpass wrote:
> Eric Eklund wrote:
> > I am looking to rewrite some old legacy code utilizing either 
> > CGI::Application or Catalyst.  Looking at the two different frameworks 
> > will quickly give a Perl novice a headache.  Does anyone have working 
> > experience with either of these frameworks and session management?  If 
> > so, would you be willing to share an example.  I have searched the Web 
> > for tutorials that contain the features I am looking for and have come 
> > up fairly empty handed.  At this point, I am siding toward CGI::App due 
> > to the perceived learning curve of Catalyst.
> 
> I started building an application with Catalyst, and I got into a 
> horrible mess when the "helper" scripts produced a mass of code I 
> couldn't understand while I was trying to make use of the session 
> management plugins. Well, actually, most of the problem was down in 
> amongst the many and varied CPAN modules it worked with. Anyway, I tried 
> CGI::Application, and it Just Worked (TM).
> 
> Much of the problem doubtless stemmed from me diving right in and trying 
> to run before I could walk (whilst, er, diving). But still, Catalyst 
> gives me the impression that I'll end up with a great pile of code I 
> don't fully understand, and I've shied away from it as a result.
> 
> When mentioning all of the above on london.pm[0], Aaron Trevena 
> mentioned Maypole, which is the project that Catalyst forked from, and 
> which has since continued along its merry way. I have not yet 
> investigated Maypole, but it might be worth looking at.
 
One thing that didn't come up in that thread is that Catalyst inherited
its dependence on half of CPAN from Maypole. Most likely, one reason
that CGI::Application "Just Worked (TM)" for you is that it has far
fewer dependencies and attempts to do much less out of the box than
either Catalyst or Maypole.

Another framework mentioned on that thread that is worth checking it is
Jifty <URL:http://jifty.org/view/HomePage> , which is _very_ similar to
Maypole, except that it also supports continuations and comes with "a
pony" (their words, not mine ;^). 

> Ian
> 
> [0] In the thread at 
> <http://london.pm.org/pipermail/london.pm/Week-of-Mon-20061016/004858.html>, 
> which is part of a much larger and more sprawling debate featuring, as I 
> recall, the standard london.pm bitching and willy-waving.

You recall correctly, and much of it comes in the form of Monty Python
references which are even more out of control than usual for Perl
programmers. Still worth checking out, though.

David Naughton
Web Development Manager
Networking & Telecommunications Services
University of Minnesota