Which are the "CPAN superstars"?

[kj]

CPAN is a somewhat overwhelming resource. The number of available
modules is huge, but there is little to guide the user towards "the
best of CPAN." (I'm aware of the star rating system, but it doesn't
seem to be very much used.)

Is there some to find out which modules are the "CPAN superstars"?

One proxy for "best" would be "most downloaded." The rationale
for this approximation is that the better modules get more
word-of-mouth advertising, and therefore more downloads. Certainly,
it is quite likely that this approach will miss many unsung gems,
but it's better than nothing.

Is there a way to get statistics such as number of downloads that
may help discern the hottest CPAN modules?

Thanks!

kj

 

[John Bokma]

Is there a way to get statistics such as number of downloads that
may help discern the hottest CPAN modules?

The best is of course the one that works for you.

 

[Steven Kuo]

On Mon, 13 Jun 2005, kj wrote:

(snipped)

Is there some to find out which modules are the "CPAN superstars"?

One proxy for "best" would be "most downloaded." The rationale
for this approximation is that the better modules get more
word-of-mouth advertising, and therefore more downloads. Certainly,
it is quite likely that this approach will miss many unsung gems,
but it's better than nothing.

....

Instead of "most downloaded", you can check for those with the
highest "kwalitee":

http://cpants.dev.zsi.at/highscores.html

 

[Chris]

CPAN is a somewhat overwhelming resource. The number of available
modules is huge, but there is little to guide the user towards "the
best of CPAN." (I'm aware of the star rating system, but it doesn't
seem to be very much used.)

Is there some to find out which modules are the "CPAN superstars"?

One proxy for "best" would be "most downloaded." The rationale
for this approximation is that the better modules get more
word-of-mouth advertising, and therefore more downloads. Certainly,
it is quite likely that this approach will miss many unsung gems,
but it's better than nothing.

Is there a way to get statistics such as number of downloads that
may help discern the hottest CPAN modules?

Thanks!

kj

An overall CPAN "best of" list doesn't make much sense. The "best"
module for the job is not necessarily indicated by number of downloads.
You should identify the problem, then look for a module, not the other
way around. The fact that DBI is very popular won't help you much if
you're trying to use gnuplot.

That said, a per-category statistics list may be a good idea...

-chris