Is there a cloud infrastructure where I can deploy Perl applications?

Question

Is there a online/cloud-ish app engine with an available Perl option?

I'd like to write and deploy a personal web app that's hosted by some existing web App engine (the app's fairly simple and resource-cheap, but does need small online storage. If anyone cares, it's basically a family-scope shopping list to be used off of smartphones and PC web browsers).

I'd rather not host it on my home PC's Apache, due to concerns about downtime (my broadband connection is less than stable).

The main candidate my investigations uncovered so far was Google App Engine.

My understanding is that Google App Engine only has Python or Java APIs. Catch is, I'm a Perl guy, with zero exposure to Python.

And if so, is that specific engine inferior enough to Google's engine that it would be worth it for me to learn Python just so I can use Google's? (I don't mind learning Python in theory but I am somewhat stressed for time so I'd rather not embark on that particular project for now - I just want to get the app done and use it).

Answer 1

There was an attempt at one point to get Perl running on the Google App Engine (GAE). However if I recall the nature of the GAE made these attempts difficult, and the group behind the push lost momentum.

Perl applications can (and are) easily hosted on AWS EC (Amazon), Linode (a Virtual Private Server (VPS) provider) and several other solutions. Linode specifically has a VPS solution for $20/month that can host a full Catalyst web stack and comes with, as of this writing, 16GB of storage.

Answer 2

Your best bet is to just get a basic web hosting account for $5 a month. As a random example, see Geekisp (This is the ISP I use for such things and have had great service.) This give you most of the benefit of a cloud solution (ie someone else is doing most of your administration work, leaving you free to just handle the content.)

Learning both the Google App Engine API and Python is probably not worth it for an app that will never need to scale, which is the other main benefit of being "in the cloud".

Answer 3

For reference: Perl AppEngine - Project to get Perl on the Google AppEngine.

However like perigrin has already mentioned the project as stalled. Though note its stalled and restarted twice now so don't rule out another revival!

I believe GAE as had its growing pains and was just too much of a slippery moving target for the Perl AppEngine developers. With the inclusion of Java on the GAE it is/was hoped that things would settle down a bit.

Remember Google have promised that "other" languages would be introduced to GAE. So Perl and even Parrot VM may well get on there in the future.

Additional references:

• Perl on AppEngine - Brad Fitzpatrick
• GAE add feature list
• PAE mailing list

/I3az/