When should you prefer carton for dependency management, and when should you avoid it?

When it comes to Perl dependency management, using Carton can be beneficial in many scenarios, but there are instances where it may not be ideal. Understanding when to prefer or avoid Carton is crucial for effective project management.

When to Prefer Carton

• Locked Dependencies: If you need to ensure all developers are using the same version of dependencies, Carton locks those versions.
• Reproducible Environments: In projects that require consistent environments across multiple setups (like CI/CD), Carton guarantees that the same dependencies are installed every time.
• Complex Dependencies: For projects with complex dependency trees where version conflicts may arise, Carton can resolve these more effectively.

When to Avoid Carton

• Simple Projects: For very small projects, managing dependencies manually might be simpler and more straightforward without the overhead of Carton.
• Performance Concerns: If the overhead from using Carton slows down the development process (due to the setup time), it might be better to avoid it in favor of traditional methods.
• Non-Compatible Environments: If you’re working in environments that don’t support Carton well or where you can't pre-install Carton easily, it may not be practical to use it.