NAME Alt - Alternate Module Implementations SYNOPSIS cpanm Alt::IO::All::crackfueled DESCRIPTION "Alt::" is the namespace for alternate implementations of CPAN modules. The purpose of the Alt module is to provide documentation explaining the Alt concept, how it works, and guidelines for using it well. THE PROBLEM For a given piece of software, CPAN only allows for one implementation of a given module/distribution name. GitHub on the other hand, is not limited this way. Any author can make a fork, since GitHub repos are namespaced by author id. On CPAN, even the author(s) of the module in question is limited by this, as they cannot release newer or older forks of their code, without introducing a new name. THE SOLUTION A module "Foo::Bar" is distributed on CPAN as "Foo-Bar". It may have submodules like "Foo::Bar::Baz". To make an alternate CPAN version, leave everything exactly the same, except distribute the new version as "Alt-Foo-Bar-AltIdentifier". When a user installs your module like so: cpanm Alt::Foo::Bar::better they will get your version of the Foo::Bar framework (Foo::Bar, Foo::Bar::Baz). Obviously, this completely overlays the old Foo::Bar install, but that's the whole idea. The user isn't surprised by this because they just asked for an Alternate implementation. If they don't like it, they can simply reinstall the original Foo-Bar, or try some other alternate. WHENCE ALT? The Alt- concept was thought up by Ingy as he tried to figure out how to revamp the somewhat popular IO::All and YAML.pm modules. Alternates can now be released and alpha/beta tested, while the originals remain stable. When Alt-IO-All-new is "community approved" it can replace IO-All. If people want the old code, they can can install Alt-IO-All-old. GUIDELINES This idea is new, and the details should be sorted out through proper discussions. Pull requests welcome. Here are the basic guidelines for using the Alt namespace: Name Creation Names for alternate modules should be minted like this: "Alt-$Original_Dist_Name-$phrase" For instance, if MSTROUT wants to make an alternate IO-All distribution to make it even more crack fueled, he might call it: Alt-IO-All-crackfueled He might also just call it: Alt-IO-All-MSTROUT By having 'Alt' at the start, it guarantees that it does not mess with future IO::All development. The "phrase" at the end can be anything unique to CPAN, but should describe the spirit of the alternate. If the alternate is meant to be short-lived, it can just be the author's CPAN id. Module for CPAN Indexing You will need to provide a module like "Alt::IO::All::MSTROUT" so that CPAN will index something that can cause your distribution to get installed by people: cpanm Alt::IO::All::MSTROUT Since you are adding this module, you should add some doc to it explaining your Alternate version's improvements. Versioning It's not yet clear what kinds of versioning issues will come into play. Other Concerns If you have em, I(ngy) would like to know them. Discuss on #toolchain on irc.perl.org for now. AUTHOR Ingy döt Net COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 2012. Ingy döt Net. See