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Submission + - CPAN as a webservice?

An anonymous reader writes: Consider some very large software archive/library — e.g. http://openjsan.org/ (Javascript), http://rubygems.org/ (Ruby), http://cpan.org/ (Perl), http://mvnrepository.com/ (Java), http://pypi.python.org/ (Python), http://github.org/ (various). Lets say you want to automatically generate wrappers that enable remote subroutine invocation (say, some sort of web service call) for the majority of software in this library. What language would you target? Where would you start?

The aim here is a baby step towards language-agnostic reuse of code developed over decades at great collective effort.

My thoughts so far: the only code suitable for exposure are functions and methods that accept and return basic types (int, char, string) — or data structures or objects made up purely of basic types. Introspection/reflection capabilities in a language — including the ability to examine method signatures — are important. Languages like Perl (whose subroutine parameters passed in the @_ array, but without formal subroutine signatures) are a bit of a puzzle.

Comment Re:Missing Option: I HATE fireworks. (Score 2) 340

Yes, because anyone who cannot afford to pay for a baby sitter should forego ever eating out or watching a movie.

And the reason you find more babies out is for a few reasons:

1. Families are smaller and there is less of grandma and grandpa living 'round the block. As such, you are left with no family help.

2. Economic realities make childcare extreme expensive, even in double income families.

3. Single parents are also a lot more common, and the single parent already has someone taking care of the kid during the day. They can't magically "leave" the kid behind for everything that they do, just because other assholes in public find them to be an inconvenience.

If I can't get a sitter, I'll do my best to calm my baby when I'm out in public. If you don't like it, you can bugger off.

Comment Re:Missing Option: I HATE fireworks. (Score 1) 340

You know, I cannot understand the recent cultural backlash against babies.

Yes, babies cry. They cry at night, they cry in restaurants, and they cry on airplanes. They cry when they are hungry, when they are tired, when they're pooping, and when they need a diaper change. And often, they cry for apparently no reason at all.

As a father of a four month old, I can tell you that we parents aren't exactly pleased to hear our babies cry, either. We don't want our kids to be in pain, and we want them to be happy. We are acutely conscious of bothering others, and we feel helpless about the whole thing.

But you know what's worse? Assholes who cannot stop complaining about crying babies. Guess what? It's how human beings are. You cried too. So did every human being who's ever lived.

So, get over it. Babies cry. Live with it. If you don't like it, find a place without any humans who procreate. And show some empathy, for crying out loud.

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FORTRAN is not a flower but a weed -- it is hardy, occasionally blooms, and grows in every computer. -- A.J. Perlis

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