There are still a few plugins I'm writing now (DataMapper REST services, Stripe boilerplate, user accounts, URL based commenting, Linode stack script, etc.), but since the whole project is moving along nicely, even getting a decent amount of downloads, I thought I'd share.
It's my first gem and my first public project.
What's wrong with Padrino? Why did you make this? Why is this better?
I just wanted to use something a little more lightweight and unstructured. Without the plugins, Vesper is basically just a Sinatra app. You can organize it as MVC, or not. There's not much abstraction from adding code to a Sinatra app, and everything glues together nicely. Also, I really like developing plugins this way (put the code from an app into a git repo, and you're done).
“Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel.”
Glad someone caught it though.
We do use the Sinatra plugin system only, though...
I admit that we are a bit behind in regards of apps-as-libraries, but I would prefer to handle that in standardized ways (using gems as distribution format and copying assets using an asset compiler instead of an installation routine).
Also, Padrino encourages not developing any plugins for it - raw Sinatra plugins are very much preferred, but are not compatible to your format.