[Mpls-pm] De-lurking...

[James Smith]

2010/2/16 Dave Rolsky <autarch at urth.org>:
> On Tue, 16 Feb 2010, James Smith wrote:
>
>> I was wondering if anyone here has any experience developing web
>> applications with the Catalyst Framework? I am impressed with what I
>> have been reading about this technology and (like many geezer
>> programmers) wish that it was there a few years before. Anyway, I was
>> wondering when the next meeting was going to be and also curious if
>> anyone wanted to talk about their experiences with Catalyst. Since my
>> appointment at the U will end in July, I have a few months to re-tool
>> as I plan my future and I have (at least for now) decided to focus on
>> this framework as my "modernizing" task.
>
> I've used Catalyst for several projects, including http://vegguide.org/
>
> I like it a lot, and think it's the best option for any substantial web app
> in Perl. For trivial apps, you might be better off with something more
> minimal (CGI::Application, Web::Simple, etc).

I did get a simple application gong on my home system using the
CGI::Application and I will be working with that on my own.

Now I am going to work on getting the same starter kit application
going on Catalyst on my home system (Windows Vista, Apache, MySql,
Perl). I have also arranged for my ISP to set up a real LAMP
environment on my account there, so I will have an outward-facing
presence as well. I have some ideas of a system I want to develop on
my own while developing these skills.

I will be working through some of the tutorials for Catalyst that are
on the internet, so if there are suggestions on good example Catalyst
tutorials, applications, or warnings of difficult areas I would like
to know. At first glance, when I installed the close to a thousand
modules on my Windows Active State Catalyst libraries it looked rather
intimidating. I guess I will be finding out soon, starting tomorrow,
as a matter of fact.

>> Any thoughts on what would be a good personal project to become
>> acquainted with the Perl of today in preparation for the jobs of
>> today?
>
> Find an itch and scratch it?
>
> Or you could just do what everyone else does and write half of a blog
> application.
>
>> Also, is it my imagination, or is there a surge in Perl energy now in
>> the computing world at large (excluding the Twin Cities, of course
>> since there just doesn't seem to be all that much going on here?).
>> After twenty eight years here in the Twin Cities (twenty using Perl)
>> it seems like relocation is a distinct possibility.
>
> So Frozen Perl a week and half back was nothing? Seemed like a lot to me.

Actually, I was referring to the number of jobs being advertised as
specifically being Perl-based. I, of course, would love to stick
around here, but I have six months to put something in place and I
don't want to leave any stones unturned. I know that there are Perl
programmers here and some Perl development activity in place, but the
real question is if there will be any viable options for me here
before the salary and benefits stop in August. If I had planned this
non-renewal notice better I would have been in a better position to
take advantage of the Frozen Perl conference. While I was trying to be
the "loyal" employee I was focused on keeping my own legacy systems
maintained and trying to satisfy the dean's hunger for MSSQL Reporting
Systems reporting, in addition to not appearing to still be interested
in Perl, a strange context, to say the least. But, as they say, that
is history now. I will be focusing on transitioning my systems,
retooling myself and looking for work.

> Yes, I'd say Perl is seeing a resurgence. Specifically, Perl people are
> making an effort to talk about Perl publically and to promote Perl to the
> world at large.
>
>> Looking forward to seeing faces and linking them up with names I have
>> been watching over the years (except for Dave Rolsky who was working
>> at Digital River when I was there about ten years ago).
>
> I read that as you not looking forward to seeing my face, and take it _very_
> personally ;)
> -dave

On the topic of the monthly meetings I just realized that the meetings
normally occur on Wednesdays and I currently taking a class on
Wednesday evenings. Would the group be open to another night, at least
for March and April? The Expresso Royal in Hennepin is fine as a
location. I don't drive, so wherever it is it needs to be on a public
transportation route.

Regarding topics for presentations, here are some topics that I think
would be interesting:
1. A good skill set for Perl programmers today. One of the problems
with having a job is that legacy code and current projects tend to
drive technology being used with little appreciation (on the part of
management, at least in my experience) for looking around and trying
new libraries and tools.

2. Implementing a first, simple project that uses a good
representative set of Catalyst functionality.

3.Template Toolkit. I have been using HTML::Template for years, but my
initial impression is the the Template Toolkit is a bit richer in
functionality. I will be checking that out over the next few days.

4. FastCGI. I have seen/heard this mentioned during interviews and
checking out job listings around the country. I would like to know
more about how this relates to the various Perl CGI frameworks.

5. Perl vs Ruby. I've read a number of white papers and blogs written
by developers who have worked with both, discussing the pros and cons.
Since it seems that some Perl shops are considering a move to Ruby
because it is "hard to find Perl programmers" I have been curious
about what the fascination is with Ruby, especially since it seems to
scale poorly and is very difficult to optimize, even though it is
easier to ramp up on in the beginning.

Just some ideas.

Jim
josjr69 at gmail.com

>
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-- 
Iames Oliver Smith, Jr
josjr69 at gmail.com
www.cyberpoet.com