Please see sql-statement bug 50788 which<br>shows several versions of SQL::Statement to be<br>unusable. E.g. version 1.15. It is this version<br>of SQL::Statement which exists in many GNU/Linux<br>distributions including Debian oldstable, stable and<br>
testing (and derivatives); Hardy, Intrepid, Jaunty<br>and Karmic (i.e. all recent and current and the<br>forthcoming releases of) Ubuntu (and derivatives);<br>the more recent releases of Redhat (and derivatives)<br>and Suse (and derivatives).<br>
<br>The later versions of SQL::Statement are not available<br>for ready installation into any of these Linux<br>environments by ordinarily competent Linux users.<br>Even for the distro maintainers these latest releases<br>
are very disruptive (ripple on effects etc) to install<br>owing to numerous dependencies on very new code.<br><br>Similarly older versions of SQL::Statement known not<br>to suffer from bug 50788 are also not available for<br>
anything but very difficult if not nearly impossible<br>installation into any recent release of these Linux<br>distro. E.g. 0.1020 does not suffer from this bug<br>and 0.1020 was std in Debian Woody but Woody is no<br>longer readily downloadable.<br>
<br>Consequently, to all intents and purposes<br>SQL::Statement is *dead* in the Linux (distro)<br>world as it can not have any serious use in its<br>currently (readily) available incarnations owing to<br>the existence of at least one critical bug in S:S.<br>
<br>Why? Why is there no usable version of SQL::Statement<br>out there for (less-than-uber-techie) (common) Linux<br>(distro) users?<br><br>For a package to be used it must be reliable and<br>available. If(!) there are reliable versions they<br>
are not (easily) available. What a pity! SQL::Statement<br>was a great package uniquely allowing SQL to be<br>used on CSV files. Was. Now it is broken.<br><br>The world needs, we need, *I* need SQL <br>on CSV files.<br>
<br>I very strongly suggest that one of three things<br>be done.<br><br>(1) If there exists a stable and usable version of<br>SQL::Statement after the known-to-be-broken 1.15 then<br>this must be pushed at the Linux distro maintainers.<br>
There must be reasons why *no* popular Linux distro<br>has accepted any version after 1.15. I know not what all<br>these may be but I suggest but I suggest the<br>very recent version 1.22 is very difficult to install<br>
into a working environment or into current Linux<br>distros because of numerous dependencies on some very<br>new code. Because 1.22 is difficult to install it<br>has practically zero users and I suggest therefore we<br>
do not actually know for sure it is a good version!<br>
A backport of a recent S:S version such as 1.22 to<br>an earlier Perl environment is needed so that it can<br>be installed without having to upgrade much of one's<br>whole Perl environment. Then we can get it into the<br>
distros, and get some users.<br><br>*or*<br><br>(2) Forward-port a known to be good version of<br>SQL::Statement such as one of the pre 1.0 versions.<br>I can vouch for 0.1020-2 as found in Debian Woody.<br><br>*or*<br><br>
(3) Fix 1.15.<br><br>OK, so now shoot the messenger. :-)<br><br>Paul Beardsell<br><br>