* Daniel Staal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [2004-07-17 12:45]:
> > Modules must be written to the interface of the module they
> > use, and if they can pick from one of several alternatives,
> > they have to be written towards all of these.
> >
> > So I don't think there's a place for virtual distributions in
> > the CPAN. The right approach is to explicitly state which
> > alternative dependencies a module can use.
>
> But there are a *few*. [ snip: eg. DBDs, PGP/GPG ]
True.
That doesn't invalidate my point that most of the time, you want
to explicitly specify the list of incompatible alternative
dependencies you have written your module against.
As for handling the few cases where it does make sense, can't it
be done on the author side of things, such as by having a
{DBI,PGP}::Config module or some such? Its version would be
bumped when the generic interface is changed, so that one could
usefully depend on it.
Regards,
--
Aristotle
"If you can't laugh at yourself, you don't take life seriously enough."
