1MooseX::App(3) User Contributed Perl Documentation MooseX::App(3)
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6 MooseX::App - Write user-friendly command line apps with even less
7 suffering
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10 In your base class:
11
12 package MyApp;
13 use MooseX::App qw(Color);
14
15 option 'global_option' => (
16 is => 'rw',
17 isa => 'Bool',
18 documentation => q[Enable this to do fancy stuff],
19 ); # Global option
20
21 has 'private' => (
22 is => 'rw',
23 ); # not exposed
24
25 Write multiple command classes (If you have only a single command class
26 you should use MooseX::App::Simple instead). Packackes in the namespace
27 may be deeply nested.
28
29 package MyApp::SomeCommand;
30 use MooseX::App::Command; # important (also imports Moose)
31 extends qw(MyApp); # optional, only if you want to use global options from base class
32
33 # Positional parameter
34 parameter 'some_parameter' => (
35 is => 'rw',
36 isa => 'Str',
37 required => 1,
38 documentation => q[Some parameter that you need to supply],
39 );
40
41 option 'some_option' => (
42 is => 'rw',
43 isa => 'Int',
44 required => 1,
45 documentation => q[Very important option!],
46 ); # Option
47
48 sub run {
49 my ($self) = @_;
50 # Do something
51 }
52
53 And then you need a simple wrapper script (called eg. myapp):
54
55 #!/usr/bin/env perl
56 use MyApp;
57 MyApp->new_with_command->run;
58
59 On the command line:
60
61 bash$ myapp help
62 usage:
63 myapp <command> [long options...]
64 myapp help
65
66 global options:
67 --global_option Enable this to do fancy stuff [Flag]
68 --help --usage -? Prints this usage information. [Flag]
69
70 available commands:
71 some_command Description of some command
72 another_command Description of another command
73 help Prints this usage information
74
75 or
76
77 bash$ myapp some_command --help
78 usage:
79 myapp some_command <SOME_PARAMETER> [long options...]
80 myapp help
81 myapp some_command --help
82
83 parameters:
84 some_parameter Some parameter that you need to supply [Required]
85
86 options:
87 --global_option Enable this to do fancy stuff [Flag]
88 --some_option Very important option! [Int,Required]
89 --help --usage -? Prints this usage information. [Flag]
90
92 MooseX-App is a highly customisable helper to write user-friendly
93 command line applications without having to worry about most of the
94 annoying things usually involved. Just take any existing Moose class,
95 add a single line ("use MooseX-App qw(PluginA PluginB ...);") and
96 create one class for each command in an underlying namespace. Options
97 and positional parameters can be defined as simple Moose accessors
98 using the "option" and "parameter" keywords respectively.
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100 MooseX-App will then
101
102 · Find, load and initialise the command classes (see
103 MooseX::App::Simple for single class/command applications)
104
105 · Create automated help and documentation from modules POD as well as
106 attributes metadata and type constraints
107
108 · Read, encode and validate the command line options and positional
109 parameters entered by the user from @ARGV and %ENV (and possibly
110 prompt the user for additional parameters see
111 MooseX::App::Plugin::Term)
112
113 · Provide helpful error messages if user input cannot be validated
114 (either missing or wrong attributes or Moose type constraints not
115 satisfied) or if the user requests help.
116
117 Commandline options are defined using the 'option' keyword which
118 accepts the same attributes as Moose' 'has' keyword.
119
120 option 'some_option' => (
121 is => 'rw',
122 isa => 'Str',
123 );
124
125 This is equivalent to
126
127 has 'some_option' => (
128 is => 'rw',
129 isa => 'Str',
130 traits => ['AppOption'], # Load extra metaclass
131 cmd_type => 'option', # Set attribute type
132 );
133
134 Single letter options are treated as flags and may be combined with
135 eachother. However such options must have a Boolean type constraint.
136
137 option 'verbose' => (
138 is => 'rw',
139 isa => 'Bool',
140 cmd_flag => 'v',
141 );
142
143 Positional parameters are defined with the 'parameter' keyword
144
145 parameter 'some_option' => (
146 is => 'rw',
147 isa => 'Str',
148 );
149
150 This is equivalent to
151
152 has 'some_option' => (
153 is => 'rw',
154 isa => 'Str',
155 traits => ['AppOption'],
156 cmd_type => 'parameter',
157 );
158
159 All keywords are imported by Moosex::App (in the app base class) and
160 MooseX::App::Command (in the command class) or MooseX::App::Simple
161 (single class application).
162
163 Furthermore, all options and parameters can also be supplied via %ENV
164
165 option 'some_option' => (
166 is => 'rw',
167 isa => 'Str',
168 cmd_env => 'SOME_OPTION', # sets the env key
169 );
170
171 Moose type constraints help MooseX::App to construct helpful error
172 messages and parse @ARGV in a meaningful way. The following type
173 constraints are supported:
174
175 · ArrayRef: Specify multiple values ('--opt value1 --opt value2',
176 also see app_permute and cmd_split)
177
178 · HashRef: Specify multiple key value pairs ('--opt key=value --opt
179 key2=value2', also see app_permute)
180
181 · Enum: Display all possibilities
182
183 · Bool: Flags that do not require values
184
185 · Int, Num: Used for proper error messages
186
187 Read the Tutorial for getting started with a simple MooseX::App command
188 line application.
189
191 new_with_command
192 my $myapp_command = MyApp->new_with_command();
193
194 This constructor reads the command line arguments and tries to create a
195 command class instance. If it fails it returns a
196 MooseX::App::Message::Envelope object holding an error message.
197
198 You can pass a hash of default/fallback params to new_with_command
199
200 my $obj = MyApp->new_with_command(%default);
201
202 Optionally you can pass a custom ARGV to this constructor
203
204 my $obj = MyApp->new_with_command( ARGV => \@myARGV );
205
206 However, if you do so you must take care of propper @ARGV encoding
207 yourself.
208
209 initialize_command_class
210 my $obj = MyApp->initialize_command_class($command_name,%default);
211
212 Helper method to instantiate the command class for the given command.
213
215 These options may be used to alter the default behaviour of MooseX-App.
216
217 app_base
218 app_base 'my_script'; # Defaults to $0
219
220 Usually MooseX::App will take the name of the calling wrapper script to
221 construct the program name in various help messages. This name can be
222 changed via the app_base function.
223
224 app_fuzzy
225 app_fuzzy 1; # default
226 OR
227 app_fuzzy 0;
228
229 Enables fuzzy matching of commands and attributes. Is turned on by
230 default.
231
232 app_strict
233 app_strict 0; # default
234 OR
235 app_strict 1;
236
237 If strict is enabled the program will terminate with an error message
238 if superfluous/unknown positional parameters are supplied. If disabled
239 all extra parameters will be copied to the extra_argv attribute.
240 Unknown options (with leading dashes) will always yield an error
241 message.
242
243 The command_strict config in the command classes allows one to set this
244 option individually for each command in the respective command class.
245
246 app_prefer_commandline
247 app_prefer_commandline 0; # default
248 or
249 app_prefer_commandline 1;
250
251 Specifies if parameters/options supplied via @ARGV,%ENV should take
252 precedence over arguments passed directly to new_with_command.
253
254 app_namespace
255 app_namespace 'MyApp::Commands', 'YourApp::MoreCommands';
256 OR
257 app_namespace();
258
259 Usually MooseX::App will take the package name of the base class as the
260 namespace for commands. This namespace can be changed and you can add
261 multiple extra namespaces.
262
263 If app_namespace is called with no arguments then autoloading of
264 command classes will be disabled entirely.
265
266 app_exclude
267 app_exclude 'MyApp::Commands::Roles','MyApp::Commands::Utils';
268
269 A sub namespace included via app_namespace (or the default behaviour)
270 can be excluded using app_exclude.
271
272 app_command_name
273 app_command_name {
274 my ($package_short,$package_full) = @_;
275 # munge package name;
276 return $command_name;
277 };
278
279 This coderef can be used to control how autoloaded package names should
280 be translated to command names. If this command returns nothing the
281 respective command class will be skipped and not loaded.
282
283 app_command_register
284 app_command_register
285 do => 'MyApp::Commands::DoSomething',
286 undo => 'MyApp::Commands::UndoSomething';
287
288 This keyword can be used to register additional commands. Especially
289 useful in conjunction with app_namespace and disabled autoloading.
290
291 app_description
292 app_description qq[Description text];
293
294 Set the app description text. If not set this information will be taken
295 from the Pod DESCRIPTION or OVERVIEW sections. (see command_description
296 to set usage per command)
297
298 app_usage
299 app_usage qq[myapp --option ...];
300
301 Set a custom usage text. If not set this will be taken from the Pod
302 SYNOPSIS or USAGE section. If both sections are not available, the
303 usage information will be autogenerated. (see command_usage to set
304 usage per command)
305
306 app_permute
307 app_permute 0; # default
308 OR
309 app_permute 1;
310
311 Allows one to specify multiple values with one key. So instead of
312 writing "--list element1 --list element2 --list element3" one might
313 write "--list element1 element2 element3" for ArrayRef elements.
314 HashRef elements may be expressed as <--hash key=value key2=value2>.
315
317 All MooseX::App classes will have two extra attributes
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319 extra_argv
320 Carries all parameters from @ARGV that were not consumed (only if
321 app_strict is turned off, otherwise superfluous parameters will raise
322 an exception).
323
324 help_flag
325 Help flag that is set when help was requested.
326
328 Options and parameters accept extra attributes for customisation:
329
330 · cmd_tags - Extra tags (as used by the help)
331
332 · cmd_flag - Override option/parameter name
333
334 · cmd_aliases - Additional option/parameter name aliases
335
336 · cmd_split - Split values into ArrayRefs on this token
337
338 · cmd_position - Specify option/parameter order in help
339
340 · cmd_env - Read options/parameters from %ENV
341
342 · cmd_count - Value of option equals to number of occurrences in
343 @ARGV
344
345 · cmd_negate - Adds an option to negate boolean flags
346
347 Refer to MooseX::App::Meta::Role::Attribute::Option for detailed
348 documentation.
349
351 MooseX::App will use your class metadata and POD to construct the
352 commands and helpful error- or usage-messages. These bits of
353 information are utilised and should be provided if possible:
354
355 · Package names
356
357 · required options for Moose attributes
358
359 · documentation options for Moose attributes
360
361 · Moose type constraints (Bool, ArrayRef, HashRef, Int, Num, and
362 Enum)
363
364 · Documentation set via app_description, app_usage,
365 command_short_description, command_long_description and
366 command_usage
367
368 · POD (NAME, ABSTRACT, DESCRIPTION, USAGE, SYNOPSIS, OVERVIEW,
369 COPYRIGHT, LICENSE, COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE, AUTHOR and AUTHORS
370 sections)
371
372 · Dzil ABSTRACT tag if no POD is available yet
373
375 The behaviour of MooseX-App can be customised with plugins. To load a
376 plugin just pass a list of plugin names after the "use MooseX-App"
377 statement. (Attention: order sometimes matters)
378
379 use MooseX::App qw(PluginA PluginB);
380
381 Currently the following plugins are shipped with MooseX::App
382
383 · MooseX::App::Plugin::BashCompletion
384
385 Adds a command that generates a bash completion script for your
386 application. See third party MooseX::App::Plugin::ZshCompletion
387 for Z shell completion.
388
389 · MooseX::App::Plugin::Color
390
391 Colorful output for your MooseX::App applications.
392
393 · MooseX::App::Plugin::Config
394
395 Config files for MooseX::App applications.
396
397 · MooseX::App::Plugin::ConfigHome
398
399 Try to find config files in users home directory.
400
401 · MooseX::App::Plugin::Term
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403 Prompt user for options and parameters that were not provided via
404 options or params. Prompt offers basic editing capabilities and
405 non-persistent history.
406
407 · MooseX::App::Plugin::Typo
408
409 Handle typos in command names and provide suggestions.
410
411 · MooseX::App::Plugin::Version
412
413 Adds a command to display the version and license of your
414 application.
415
416 · MooseX::App::Plugin::Man
417
418 Display full manpage of application and commands.
419
420 · MooseX::App::Plugin::MutexGroup
421
422 Allow for mutally exclusive options.
423
424 · MooseX::App::Plugin::Depends
425
426 Adds dependent options.
427
428 Refer to Writing MooseX-App Plugins for documentation on how to create
429 your own plugins.
430
432 Startup time may be an issue - escpecially if you load many plugins. If
433 you do not require the functionality of plugins and ability for fine
434 grained customisation (or Moose for that matter) then you should
435 probably use MooX::Options or MooX::Cmd.
436
437 In some cases - especially when using non-standard class inheritance -
438 you may end up with command classes lacking the help attribute. In this
439 case you need to include the following line in your base class or
440 command classes.
441
442 with qw(MooseX::App::Role::Common);
443
444 When manually registering command classes (eg. via
445 app_command_register) in multiple base classes with different sets of
446 plugins (why would you ever want to do that?), then meta attributes may
447 lack some attribute metaclasses. In this case you need to load the
448 missing attribute traits explicitly:
449
450 option 'argument' => (
451 depends => 'otherargument',
452 trait => ['MooseX::App::Plugin::Depends::Meta::Attribute'], # load trait
453 );
454
456 Read the Tutorial for getting started with a simple MooseX::App command
457 line application.
458
459 For alternatives you can check out
460
461 MooseX::App::Cmd, MooseX::Getopt, MooX::Options, MooX::Cmdand App::Cmd
462
464 Please report any bugs or feature requests via
465 <https://github.com/maros/MooseX-App/issues/new>. I will be notified,
466 and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your report as
467 I make changes.
468
470 Maroš Kollár
471 CPAN ID: MAROS
472 maros [at] k-1.com
473
474 http://www.k-1.com
475
477 Special thanks to all contributors.
478
479 In no particular order: Andrew Jones, George Hartzell, Steve Nolte,
480 Michael G, Thomas Klausner, Yanick Champoux, Edward Baudrez, David
481 Golden, J.R. Mash, Thilo Fester, Gregor Herrmann, Sergey Romanov,
482 Sawyer X, Roman F., Hunter McMillen, Maik Hentsche, Alexander Stoddard,
483 Marc Logghe, Tina Müller, Lisa Hare
484
485 You are more than welcome to contribute to MooseX-App. Please have a
486 look at the
487 <https://github.com/maros/MooseX-App/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3AWishlist>
488 list of open wishlist issues for ideas.
489
491 MooseX::App is Copyright (c) 2012-17 Maroš Kollár.
492
493 This library is free software and may be distributed under the same
494 terms as perl itself. The full text of the licence can be found in the
495 LICENCE file included with this module.
496
497
498
499perl v5.28.1 2017-09-24 MooseX::App(3)