Let's get this out of the way up front: I actually really like Catalyst. And I also really like Rails [1].
But if you'd like to read something really funny, take a look at the history of the Catalyst vs Rails page on the Catalyst wiki.
Leaving aside the fact that this page—that is, the Catalyst vs Rails page—used to claim that Catalyst was more mature than Rails because its version number was, what, 8 times higher than that of Rails—leaving that aside—take a look at this amazing entry on the changelog of that page:
Removed comment about Java programmers dying to be full-time Ruby programmers.
Wow! Finally, a balanced critique of two different—and, presumably, not that highly competitive—development frameworks!
[1] Note, BTW, how much better Rails is at marketing than Catalyst (and I mean this as a compliment for Rails, though I'm sure some may take it as a compliment for Catalyst).
Rails: "Rails is a full-stack, open-source web framework in Ruby for writing real-world applications with joy and less code than most frameworks spend doing XML sit-ups."
And Catalyst: "Catalyst is an Elegant Web Framework, supporting the MVC pattern, as well as a number of experimental web patterns."
I know which one I'd pick if I weren't already a Perl developer. [2]
[2] That said, I have a lot of respect for the technical framework the Catalyst team has built, and I am a Perl developer, so there you go.
You're quite right, and the "experimental web patterns" bit actually sounds a bit scary :-/
We've been working on a better slogan in #catalyst today, and already discarded such beauties as Catalyst - Ruthless Efficiency, Catalyst - Perl on Crack and Catalyst - It sucks less. Guess we're nerds, not marketing people. :/
If someone has a suggestion for a better blurb for Catalyst, we're all ears.
Posted by: Marcus Ramberg | September 07, 2005 at 04:21 AM