RFC: DBIx::Counter - Manipulate named counters stored in a database

[Rhesa Rozendaal]

Hi,
I've been a CPAN consumer for so long, I thought it's about time to start 
contributing.
I wrote a little module that does exactly the same as File::CounterFile, but 
with a database as storage engine.
It came into this world after a thread on www.experts-exchange.com; so there's 
at least one interested user for it.
Granted, it's nothing earth-shattering, but it's simple and generic enough to be useful outside my usual work, and it presents me with a 
manageable package to start my CPAN career.
Before I go all the way by applying for a PAUSE account and uploading it, I would like to put it to public scrutiny first. I'd like to know 
I'm doing things properly from the start.

Here's my list of questions:
- what about the module name? is it good?
- code review would be nice
- documentation: clear enough?
- tests: for a module this simple?
- exception handling: should I do this myself, or let DBI throw them?
The archive is here: http://www.rhesa.com/DBIx-Counter-0.01.tar.gz
Thanks for your attention!
Rhesa

Here's the pod:
NAME
    DBIx::Counter - Manipulate named counters stored in a database
SYNOPSIS
        use DBIx::Counter;
        $c = new DBIx::Counter('my counter',
                                dsn       => 'dbi:mysql:mydb',
                                login     => 'username',
                                password  => 'secret'
                              );
        print $c->value;
        $c->inc;
DESCRIPTION
    This module creates and maintains named counters in a database. It has a
    simple interface, with methods to increment and decrement the counter by
    one, and a method for retrieving the value. It supports operator
    overloading for increment (++), decrement (--) and stringification ("").
    It should perform well in persistent environments, since it uses the
    connect_cached and prepare_cached methods of DBI. The biggest advantage
    over its main inspiration - File::CounterFile - is that it allows
    distributed, concurrent access to the counters and isn't tied to a
    single file system.
    Connection settings can be set in the constructor, or by using the
    package variables $DSN, $LOGIN and $PASSWORD and $TABLENAME. The table
    name is configurable, but the column names are currently hard-coded to
    counter_id and value. The following SQL statement can be used to create
    the table:
        CREATE TABLE counters (
            counter_id  varchar(64) primary key,
            value       int not null default 0
        );
    This module attempts to mimick the File::CounterFile interface, except
    currently it only supports integer counters. The locking functions in
    File::CounterFile are present for compatibility only: they always return
    0.
METHODS
    new Creates a new counter instance. First parameter is the required
        counter name. Second, optional, argument is an initial value for the
        counter on its very first use. It also accepts named parameters for
        the dbi connection string, dbi login and dbi password, and the table
        name:
            dsn         - overrides $DBIx::Counter::DSN
            login       - overrides $DBIx::Counter::LOGIN
            password    - overrides $DBIx::Counter::PASSWORD
            tablename   - overrides $DBIx::Counter::TABLENAME
            Examples:
            $c = new DBIx::Counter('my counter');
            $c = new DBIx::Counter('my counter',
                                    dsn       => 'dbi:mysql:mydb',
                                    login     => 'username',
                                    password  => 'secret'
                                  );
            $c = new DBIx::Counter('my counter',
                                    42,
                                    dsn       => 'dbi:mysql:mydb',
                                    tablename => 'gauges'
                                  );
    inc increases the counter by one.
            $c->inc;
            # or using overload:
            $c++;
    dec decreases the counter by one.
            $c->dec;
            # or using overload:
            $c--;
    value
        returns the current value of the counter.
            print $c->value;
            # or using overload:
            print $c;
SEE ALSO
    File::CounterFile
AUTHOR
    Rhesa Rozendaal, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
    Copyright (C) 2005 by Rhesa Rozendaal
    This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
    under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.2 or, at
    your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.