/ 
Incunabulum-0.04
/ Incunabulum

NAME

Incunabulum - Extensible, plugin-based MVC framework

SYNOPSIS

The most minimal Apache-enabled Incunabulum configuration:

PerlPostConfigHandler Incunabulum
<Location /incunabulum>
    SetHandler perl-script
    PerlResponseHandler Incunabulum::Controller::Plugin::mod_perl2
</Location>

Other configurations are possible. See Incunabulum::Docs::Admin for more possible configurations.

DESCRIPTION

Incunabulum is both a lot of things and nothing at the same time. It provides an API for developers to create MVC applications which are fully tailored to their needs and desires. Incunabulum grants developers this freedom by providing very little. On the most basic level, it's an MVC workflow. What this means is that there's a very well-defined path through which control and data flow. As with any event-based framework, it entirely relies upon the developer to utilise its functionality.

On its own, without any plugins (including the ones that ship with Incunabulum), Incunabulum's functionality weighs in at zero. Hence, it's very easy to both eschew and override the included functionality -- or to take the weblogging system in entirely new directions. In not providing any functionality on its own, Incunabulum doesn't force a developer to keep any module in order to appease some internal API.

Frameworks are great things, and they serve as the bases for some of the most powerful applications. In the Real World (tm), though, a framework is precisely useless to an end user who just wants a drop-in that she can use to achieve some ultimate, specific functionality. Hence, Incunabulum ships with a number of plugin modules; these modules implement a basic weblog, accessible via a web browser and hosted on a mod_perl-capable server. This weblog uses (by default) a PostgreSQL database to store information and Text::Markdown to render documents. As stated above, Incunabulum's plugin-based nature allows for the juxtapositioning of exterior data store / user interface modules. A user shouldn't need to replace the PostgreSQL data store though, as all of the SQL is standards-compliant and the DSN may be changed.

Incunabulum follows the MVC design paradigm, which means that different parts of the system are logically, programmatically, and physically separated. For example, code in the Incunabulum::Model namespace knows nothing about HTML, just as code in the Incunabulum::Controller namespace has very little knowledge about how to handle database connections or authentication failures. And don't expect anything in the Incunabulum::View namespace to know anything beyond some geek-chic presentation languages (and some not-so-chic, but some people still use RSS, so... :))

handler

NOTE: This documentation placed here so Test::Pod::Coverage is happy. I know that I should document (and test...) this code better. But that's not really feasible with a non-existent API definition.

Currently living as a PerlPostConfigHandler for the mod_perl 2 Controller plugin. This will change.

EXPORT

None. This will change when the external API is developed.

AUTHORS

Christopher Nehren, <apeiron@cpan.org>

BUGS

Being that Incunabulum doesn't do anything right now, it doesn't have any bugs whatsoever. :) Of course, that's bound to change once I start writing code.

Please report any bugs or feature requests to bug-incunabulum@rt.cpan.org, or through the web interface at http://rt.cpan.org. We will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as we make changes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have to be honest. I never read acknowledgements sections in books or other works. Primarily because I don't know any of the names or organisations, most of the time. So writing an acknowledgements section is definitely an interesting experience for me. I'll do my best.

Incunabulum... wow. By its very nature it is firmly-rooted upon the shoulders of a countlessly myriad, ever-growing populace of giants. First and foremost is Simon Cozen's most wonderful Module::Pluggable::Ordered module, and by induction, Simon Wistow's equally wonderful Module::Pluggable. Without these modules, Incunabulum wouldn't exist. It's as simple as that. I couldn't have ever, ever come up with the code to do what those modules do, not if I wanted to. I owe so much to these two men that this may as well be their code.

It pains me to think of the kind of torture I'd endure if I tried to write something this complex and flexible in a language other than Perl. I almost take for granted the tremendous distilled wizardry and magic I use every time I use something written in Perl. Incunabulum, by definition, requires the most flexible programming language available to perform its task -- its possibilities are limitless, just like Perl's. Larry Wall and everyone associated with the development of Perl are not just in the language business; they're in the business of wizardry. This neophyte humbly offers sincerest gratitude for allowing him to partake of your wisdom, foresight, and just downright awesomeness. Smashing good show.

Perl would not be what it is without its community. It's difficult to really quantitatively describe the Perl culture; all I can really say is that it as a whole is tremendously conducive and helpful in developing software like this, in more ways than technical ones. I would say "thank you" to those aspects of the community I visit regularly, but I know that they're influenced by all the others. So, if you use Perl, and you interact with people regarding using Perl... thank you! In some way or another, every person who reads this has shaped the Perl community, and thus every person who reads this has my gratitude for making Perl and its community what they are.

There are also people, very special and dear to me... people who've never done anything with Perl in their lives. Yet that doesn't matter... and is perhaps crucial to the roles they've played in my life. These people know who they are. I consider myself thankful, blessed even, that they're too numerous to mention. Sometimes, we may not have gotten along as well as I'd pleased... but nonetheless know that each and every one of you has helped shape the person I am today, and for that I am thankful to each and every one of you.

COPYRIGHT & LICENSE

Copyright 2004-2007 Christopher Nehren, All Rights Reserved.

This library is software. I'll determine a license for it eventually. For right now, until that happens, assume it's public domain.