1ExtUtils::MakeMaker::TutPoerrilalP(r3opgmr)ammers ReferEexntcUetiGlusi:d:eMakeMaker::Tutorial(3pm)
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6 ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial - Writing a module with MakeMaker
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9 use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
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11 WriteMakefile(
12 NAME => 'Your::Module',
13 VERSION_FROM => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
14 );
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17 This is a short tutorial on writing a simple module with MakeMaker.
18 Its really not that hard.
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20 The Mantra
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22 MakeMaker modules are installed using this simple mantra
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24 perl Makefile.PL
25 make
26 make test
27 make install
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29 There are lots more commands and options, but the above will do it.
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31 The Layout
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33 The basic files in a module look something like this.
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35 Makefile.PL
36 MANIFEST
37 lib/Your/Module.pm
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39 That's all that's strictly necessary. There's additional files you
40 might want:
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42 lib/Your/Other/Module.pm
43 t/some_test.t
44 t/some_other_test.t
45 Changes
46 README
47 INSTALL
48 MANIFEST.SKIP
49 bin/some_program
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51 Makefile.PL
52 When you run Makefile.PL, it makes a Makefile. That's the whole
53 point of MakeMaker. The Makefile.PL is a simple program which
54 loads ExtUtils::MakeMaker and runs the WriteMakefile() function to
55 generate a Makefile.
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57 Here's an example of what you need for a simple module:
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59 use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
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61 WriteMakefile(
62 NAME => 'Your::Module',
63 VERSION_FROM => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
64 );
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66 NAME is the top-level namespace of your module. VERSION_FROM is
67 the file which contains the $VERSION variable for the entire dis‐
68 tribution. Typically this is the same as your top-level module.
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70 MANIFEST
71 A simple listing of all the files in your distribution.
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73 Makefile.PL
74 MANIFEST
75 lib/Your/Module.pm
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77 File paths in a MANIFEST always use Unix conventions (ie. /) even
78 if you're not on Unix.
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80 You can write this by hand or generate it with 'make manifest'.
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82 See ExtUtils::Manifest for more details.
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84 lib/
85 This is the directory where your .pm and .pod files you wish to
86 have installed go. They are layed out according to namespace. So
87 Foo::Bar is lib/Foo/Bar.pm.
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89 t/ Tests for your modules go here. Each test filename ends with a .t.
90 So t/foo.t/ 'make test' will run these tests. The directory is
91 flat, you cannot, for example, have t/foo/bar.t run by 'make test'.
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93 Tests are run from the top level of your distribution. So inside a
94 test you would refer to ./lib to enter the lib directory, for exam‐
95 ple.
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97 Changes
98 A log of changes you've made to this module. The layout is
99 free-form. Here's an example:
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101 1.01 Fri Apr 11 00:21:25 PDT 2003
102 - thing() does some stuff now
103 - fixed the wiggy bug in withit()
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105 1.00 Mon Apr 7 00:57:15 PDT 2003
106 - "Rain of Frogs" now supported
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108 README
109 A short description of your module, what it does, why someone would
110 use it and its limitations. CPAN automatically pulls your README
111 file out of the archive and makes it available to CPAN users, it is
112 the first thing they will read to decide if your module is right
113 for them.
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115 INSTALL
116 Instructions on how to install your module along with any dependen‐
117 cies. Suggested information to include here:
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119 any extra modules required for use
120 the minimum version of Perl required
121 if only works on certain operating systems
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123 MANIFEST.SKIP
124 A file full of regular expressions to exclude when using 'make man‐
125 ifest' to generate the MANIFEST. These regular expressions are
126 checked against each file path found in the distribution (so you're
127 matching against "t/foo.t" not "foo.t").
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129 Here's a sample:
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131 ~$ # ignore emacs and vim backup files
132 .bak$ # ignore manual backups
133 \# # ignore CVS old revision files and emacs temp files
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135 Since # can be used for comments, # must be escaped.
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137 MakeMaker comes with a default MANIFEST.SKIP to avoid things like
138 version control directories and backup files. Specifying your own
139 will override this default.
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141 bin/
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144 perlmodstyle gives stylistic help writing a module.
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146 perlnewmod gives more information about how to write a module.
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148 There are modules to help you through the process of writing a module:
149 ExtUtils::ModuleMaker, Module::Install, PAR
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153perl v5.8.8 2001-09-21ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial(3pm)