Re: Some PEAR remarks

On Sat, 20 Apr 2002 09:41:21 +0200, Stig S. Bakken wrote: >> As I said in another post in this thread, I think classes DB and >> DB_common are too feature-bloated. Methods like 'fetchOne' and >> 'fetchAll' simply shouldn't be there, because they do not add a new >> feature to the library; they only combine a couple of existing features >> to make using them easier to use. That kind of code shouldn't be in a >> library, or at least not at that level. > > Not in a library? Then where should it be? They certainly are features > in a library, because they provide a quick and easy way to do simple > queries, which makes programmers more productive. Aren't you confusing class libraries with procedural libraries? It's generally okay to put lots of functions in a procedural library, take the C string library for example. On the other hand, a class in a class library should be fairly small, especially when it's a base class . Take the C++ string class for example: it has much less features than its C equivalent. That's not to say the features shouldn't be in the library at all, but they should be somewhere else, at a different level, for example in a utility class with static only methods, or in a specialized subclass. I really don't want to sound arrogant, but I would still urge you to read up on how to design and implement libraries, especially class libraries. It is a discipline not comparable to designing applications or procedural libraries. It's very, very difficult to do right. All in all, I think I now have a pretty clear idea of how the PEAR library is designed, and I think I have said all I wanted to say about it. Your responses have shown that you think different about many things, which is of course allright. On the other hand, my viewpoints on the subject differ too much from yours, and my conclusion is that I will not be using the PEAR library myself. I hate procedural code, and to me the PEAR library is just that: a procedural library in the disguise of a class library. That's okay for many developers, so they will likely be very happy with your work. But I, for one, am not. Anyway, thank you all very much for your responses and opinions. I hope we all learned something from them. At least be sure I did. Vincent