[davewood]

There are a few things to consider when trying to pick a good/the best module for a problem.

- ask in irc.perl.org. it is very likely to get pointers from very experienced people.

- use metacpan.org and pay attention to the votes/likes it got. and read the reviews.

- each and every CPAN module is automatically tested. look at the stats to weed out problematic modules.

- check out the release frequency and when the last release occurred.

- read the Changes file

- take a look at the tests for the module, is it well tested? are there alot of tests?

If you are past a certain point in your life as a Perl programmer this comes very natural and does not take alot of time.

[liotier]

I agree, but naive new Perl users might benefit from some prominent showcasing of well-known good modules or maybe comparison charts between modules in the same functional niche... Maybe that is a subject better left to Perl bloggers rather than to the neutral CPAN, but first contact with Perl is sometimes an embarrassment of riches.

Anyway, I love the CPAN - whatever I imagine myself wanting to do, five people have done it already !

[phaylon]

Well, MetaCPAN has a leaderboard of modules, but it could be a bit more prominent: https://metacpan.org/favorite/leaderboard