How do I find an old Perl module on CPAN?

I am running old CGIs on a new box. I use the module
Convert::ASCII::String, which no longer appears on CPAN searches.

In the past, I was able to find an old module (Tools::SQL) because I
was able to determine the author's name (Kane) and found it on
backpan.perl.org. But this time, I have no knowledge of the module
except its name - I do not know the author's name (and have no readily
available means to find it). backpan seems to support only searches
by author name, not module name.

Thanks!

--
Sad news about Tad - condolences to his family and friends. He will
be missed on this newsgroup, and by me.

Quoth David Filmer <davidfilmer@gmail.com>:
> I am running old CGIs on a new box. I use the module
> Convert::ASCII::String, which no longer appears on CPAN searches.
>
> In the past, I was able to find an old module (Tools::SQL) because I
> was able to determine the author's name (Kane) and found it on
> backpan.perl.org. But this time, I have no knowledge of the module
> except its name - I do not know the author's name (and have no readily
> available means to find it). backpan seems to support only searches
> by author name, not module name.

In the general case I would try asking modules@perl.org. Once a
namespace has been registered on CPAN, it never gets unregistered, even
if the module is no longer present, so the PAUSE admins ought to be able
to tell you who last uploaded a registered version of that module.

In this particular case, a quick Google search suggests the module was
written by Steven Schubiger, and indeed SCHUBIGER's BackPAN directory
has several versions ending with 0.32 from 2004.

That said, you would do well to upgrade your CGIs as soon as possible.
Running unmaintained code in production is pretty dangerous.
Alternatively, of course, you could volunteer to maintain the module
yourself. The PAUSE admins have a procedure for handing over change
control for a namespace: essentially, you have to either get the
original author's permission, or demonstrate you have made an honest
attempt to get in touch with them and they are not responding.

Ben

In article <ar1h79-5nh.ln1@anubis.morrow.me.uk>, Ben Morrow
<ben@morrow.me.uk> wrote:

> Quoth David Filmer <davidfilmer@gmail.com>:
> > I am running old CGIs on a new box. I use the module
> > Convert::ASCII::String, which no longer appears on CPAN searches.


> In the general case I would try asking modules@perl.org.

In the general case, before you bother them, try BackPAN:
http://backpan.perl.org, which has almost every distribution
ever uploaded. As you note, Google is helpful too.

> Once a
> namespace has been registered on CPAN, it never gets unregistered,

That's not quite true. If you look the bottom of your Module Metadata
page, you'll see a "Lifecycle" field. One of the options is "Can be
removed from database".

Quoth brian d foy <brian.d.foy@gmail.com>:
> In article <ar1h79-5nh.ln1@anubis.morrow.me.uk>, Ben Morrow
> <ben@morrow.me.uk> wrote:
>
> > Quoth David Filmer <davidfilmer@gmail.com>:
> > > I am running old CGIs on a new box. I use the module
> > > Convert::ASCII::String, which no longer appears on CPAN searches.
>
> > In the general case I would try asking modules@perl.org.
>
> In the general case, before you bother them, try BackPAN:
> http://backpan.perl.org, which has almost every distribution
> ever uploaded. As you note, Google is helpful too.

The OP knew about BackPAN, but since he didn't know the author of the
module he was looking for, didn't know where to look. I don't believe
there is a by-module index of BackPAN?

But yes, a Google search (which took me all of about a minute) should
definitely come before bothering busy people, even those on Usenet.

> > Once a
> > namespace has been registered on CPAN, it never gets unregistered,
>
> That's not quite true. If you look the bottom of your Module Metadata
> page, you'll see a "Lifecycle" field. One of the options is "Can be
> removed from database".

I had forgotten that.

Ben