Idiomatic process for handling needed external language modules for which there is no port

[Bill Cole]

On 2023-12-15 at 23:57:47 UTC-0500 (Fri, 15 Dec 2023 20:57:47 -0800)
Kenneth Wolcott <kennethwolcott at gmail.com>
is rumored to have said:

> Idiomatic process for handling needed external language modules for
> which there is no port
>
> Hi;
>
>   I'm trying to understand how to logically handle external modules
> for a language under MacPorts.
>
> TL;DR:
>
> How do you do package management on MacPorts for languages which might
> need modules which MacPorts doesn't have?

I have no general answer, but I have not had *substantial* problems with 
Perl for a small set of projects using your "Scenario A." CPAN installs 
into functionally correct places in a MacPorts Perl installation, and I 
don't recall anything from MacPorts that should even be called a 
warning.


>   This problem exists for many languages supported by MacPorts; ie:
> Perl, Python, Raku, Julia, etc
>
>   Scenario A:
>
> 1.  Install Perl from MacPorts.
> 2. Need Perl module XYZ.
> 3. Perl module XYZ does not exist on MaqcPorts.
> 4. Install (using CPAN, CPANm, or manually) the XYX module locating it
> under the MacPorts port.
> 5. MacPorts complains about things installed under /opt/local that it
> didn't put there (makes sense).
>
> Scenario B:
> 1.  Install Perl from MacPorts.
> 2. Perl script I want to use requires a more recent version of Perl
> than those found on MacPorts.
> 3. Install my own version of Perl (usually from source).
> 4. Need Perl module XYZ.
> 5. Install Perl module XYZ (trying to match it with my own install
> location, but frequently screw this up).
> 6. End up with weird path issues, Perl and/or module(s) all confused.
>
> Scenario C:
> 1.  Install Perl from MacPorts.
> 2. Install Perl from perlbrew.
> 3. Run into problems with #3-6 from Scenario B.
>
> Scenario D:
> 1 Use a Docker container for Perl exclusively for these experiments
> that I'm trying to use Perl for (various math learning, etc);
> 2. Install Perl from source
> 3. Install all needed external Perl modules myself on the Docker 
> container.
>
> Looks like I end up using Scenario D for Perl and Raku.  Now
> considering this for Julia, Python, Rust, etc
>
> So one of my problems is that I do not have a foolproof method
> (understanding) of how to install modules  (Perl, Raku, etc) so that
> the modules are not in conflict with multiple installations of the
> main language.
>
> Bottom-line question:
>
> How do you do package management on MacPorts for languages which might
> need modules which MacPorts doesn't have?
>
> Thanks,
> Ken Wolcott


-- 
Bill Cole
bill at scconsult.com or billcole at apache.org
(AKA @grumpybozo and many *@billmail.scconsult.com addresses)
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