[Module-build-general] implications of installation failures due to BerkelyDB

[Mark S. <ma...@su...>]

Hello,

I've just been reading about Module::Build and it seems like a great
solution. As a module author myself, I'm ready to try it out. As a first
step, I tried installing the "Thesaurus.pm" module onto my home Linux
machine.

The process eventually failed because of the dependency on
BerkeleyDB.pm, which depended on the C-based Berkelely DB libraries to
be installed, which weren't found.

The README for the module documents a number of known failures, and
their solutions. 

I like the idea that Module::Build is trying to be a more  "pure perl"
solution, and I see this dependency as a stumbling block. I, for one, am
not going to switch a module on CPAN to use it, knowing that the
installation may fail in a way that a user may not be able to figure out
how to address.

I would prefer that Module::Build be able to use some other "pure perl"
back-end to avoid this. This also seems to be in line with the goals of
the module. 

I understand that the C-based Berkeley DB is probably faster, but I
don't think about module installation as an operation that needs to be
optimized for speed...especially for a forward looking project like this
one. 

Regards,

	Mark

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