Perl's smartmatch operator *is* its "in" operator (given a scalar-array comparison). To want for a Pythonic "in" is to want for Python's type system in place of Perl's:
>>> 1 in [1]
True
>>> 1 in ["1"]
False
>>> 1 in [True]
True
>>> "1" in [True]
False
Which may be nicer depending on your temperament, and can be achieved in Perl by using smart match in conjunction with wrapper classes to delineate between scalar subtypes.
]]>Direct use of Plack might be thought of opting for a "library" as opposed to a "framework." While it may be said that Dancer is more appropriate for Ovid's target audience of new learners, since one can install the Dancer distribution and immediately have everything needed to build a dynamic web application, Plack provides similar, "batteries-included" amenities: middleware for logging and authentication, server shims, standalone servers.
]]>