On 18/09/2013 18:48, Peter Corlett wrote:
Dancer and Mojolicious are lightweight, DBIx::Class only slightly less so, and
are not separately enough material for a full-sized book. At best, you're
talking a 100 page print-on-demand labour of love.
I've come across no less than 3 Sinatra books so why should a Dancer
book be considered lightweight?
Mojolicious and Moose *have* such a book, and although I can't find the ISBN
for the Moose book, Mojolicious's is
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/3848200953/improtripe-21.
I don't think a book published purely in German is that relevant.
The hypothetical "Modern Perl Cookbook" is a layering violation. Perl Cookbook
is a collection of short hints and tips on how to do simple tasks. Modern Perl is how to
architect a large system. That's two separate topics, and thus two separate books. Which
already exist.
Perl Cookbook is 10 years old so not relevant to Perl 5.10+, ie. Modern
Perl. Hence my "layering violation". Python Cookbook has had 2 new
editions since the 1st edition appeared in 2002. All I'm saying is that
when major pillars of the Perl library fall behind like this it gives
the impression that the language is also dated. We don't see it that way
from the inside, of course, but I'm addressing how Perl appears to new
developers making a choice of language.
Then you have books where you've taken some other topic, and just stick "with
Perl" on the end:
Agile Development with Perl & Moose
RESTful APIs with Perl
HTML5, Javascript & Perl
Network Programming with Perl (maybe an update from Lincoln Stein)
Scientific Programming with Perl
What does the "and Perl" add to the material? It may as well say "and Intercal"
for all the good it does.
The "and Perl" makes all the difference. If I'm a new developer choosing
a language and I see "RESTful APIs with Python/PHP/Ruby" and nothing
from Perl it may influence my choice of language even if there is a
chapter tucked away in a Catalyst book somewhere. Whether it's marketing
or not, Ruby and Python are taking the initiative, as I see it, by
producing plenty of books which combine the language with another
technology. You may not like it but it seems to interest developers.
Analysing Big Data with Perl
This is also just a "with Perl" title, but merits picking out. "Big Data" is a nebulous term of art
much like "Web 2.0" is, and roughly means "the fashionable technologies we're using with a big layer of
marketing slathered on so people don't realise it's mostly hot air".
I'm sure your purist's aversion to mixing Perl with any other technology
serves you well but the fact remains that Ruby and Python seem to have
benefited from doing a little of what the publishers want. Contrasted
with the dearth of Perl publications a newcomer to the scene can be
forgiven for surmising that Perl has become less relevant.
gvim
