I don’t know why I bother trying to upgrade sometimes, it’s just hassle.

I tried installing the Blosxom ATOM module which advertises itself: [www.blosxom.com]

Configuration: Configurable: some optional configuration
Additional Bits Required:
Author: Rael Dornfest
URL: [www.blosxom.com]
Category: /plugins/syndication
Date: 2003-12-10

…as requiring no significant configuration; this is confirmed by a skim of the code.

So I try it, and immediately my blog crashes. 8-(

The logfiles say:

Compilation failed in require at blosxom.cgi line 155, <DATA> line 16.
Can’t locate XML/Parser.pm in @INC (@INC contains: […]) at atomfeed line 48, <DATA> line 16.

…and lo! it wants a module that (of course, in an affront to all OOPS and XML trendyness) my ISP doesn’t provide, and which requires another module to be installed, causing a knockon daisychain which frankly I can’t be arsed to attack.

Thing is: ATOM like RSS is just another bloody fixed-format document with extra anglebrackets for that spicy, zesty flavour, so why waste time and computrons doing reusing lardy code when you could bang it out in 10 minutes?

Oh, right, I forgot. “Software engineering”…

Sod it, I’ll hack up a RSS2.0 feed eventually.