Re: 5.8.1 and gcc-3.2.3 (& Win98)
[p5sagit/p5-mst-13.2.git] / pod / perlmodlib.PL
CommitLineData
2e1d04bc 1#!../miniperl
2
1fa7ca25 3$ENV{LC_ALL} = 'C';
4
2e1d04bc 5open (OUT, ">perlmodlib.tmp") or die $!;
1fa7ca25 6my (@pragma, @mod, @MANIFEST);
4d671226 7
2e1d04bc 8open (MANIFEST, "../MANIFEST") or die $!;
4d671226 9@MANIFEST = grep !m</(?:t|demo)/>, <MANIFEST>;
7ef5744c 10push @MANIFEST, 'lib/Config.pod', 'lib/Errno.pm', 'lib/lib.pm',
11 'lib/DynaLoader.pm', 'lib/XSLoader.pm';
2e1d04bc 12
4d671226 13for (@MANIFEST) {
2e1d04bc 14 my $filename;
15 next unless s|^lib/|| or m|^ext/|;
7ef5744c 16 my ($origfilename) = ($filename) = m|^(\S+)|;
2e1d04bc 17 $filename =~ s|^[^/]+/|| if $filename =~ s|^ext/||;
1fa7ca25 18 next unless $filename =~ m!\.p(m|od)$!;
7ef5744c 19 unless (open (MOD, "../lib/$filename")) {
20 unless (open (MOD, "../$origfilename")) {
21 warn "Couldn't open ../$origfilename: $!";
22 next;
23 }
24 $filename = $origfilename;
25 }
4e860d0a 26
1fa7ca25 27
2e1d04bc 28 my ($name, $thing);
29 my $foundit=0;
4e860d0a 30 {
31 local $/="";
32 while (<MOD>) {
33 next unless /^=head1 NAME/;
34 $foundit++;
35 last;
36 }
2e1d04bc 37 }
4e860d0a 38 unless ($foundit) {
1fa7ca25 39 warn "$filename missing =head1 NAME (okay if there is respective .pod)\n";
4e860d0a 40 next;
2e1d04bc 41 }
2e1d04bc 42 my $title = <MOD>;
43 chomp($title);
44 close MOD;
45
46 my $perlname = $filename;
7ef5744c 47 $perlname =~ s!^.*\b(ext|lib)/!!;
4e860d0a 48 $perlname =~ s!\.p(m|od)$!!;
7ef5744c 49 $perlname =~ s!\b(\w+)/\1\b!$1!;
4e860d0a 50 $perlname =~ s!/!::!g;
51
52 ($name, $thing) = split / --? /, $title, 2;
53
54 unless ($name and $thing) {
55 warn "$filename missing name\n" unless $name;
56 warn "$filename missing thing\n" unless $thing;
57 next;
58 }
2e1d04bc 59
1fa7ca25 60
4e860d0a 61 $thing =~ s/^perl pragma to //i;
62 $thing = ucfirst($thing);
2e1d04bc 63 $title = "=item $perlname\n\n$thing\n\n";
64
1fa7ca25 65 if ($filename =~ /[A-Z]/) {
2e1d04bc 66 push @mod, $title;
67 } else {
68 push @pragma, $title;
69 }
70}
71
72print OUT <<'EOF';
c165c82a 73=for maintainers
74Generated by perlmodlib.PL -- DO NOT EDIT!
843dbe26 75
2e1d04bc 76=head1 NAME
77
78perlmodlib - constructing new Perl modules and finding existing ones
79
2e1d04bc 80=head1 THE PERL MODULE LIBRARY
81
7ef5744c 82Many modules are included in the Perl distribution. These are described
2e1d04bc 83below, and all end in F<.pm>. You may discover compiled library
7ef5744c 84files (usually ending in F<.so>) or small pieces of modules to be
2e1d04bc 85autoloaded (ending in F<.al>); these were automatically generated
86by the installation process. You may also discover files in the
87library directory that end in either F<.pl> or F<.ph>. These are
88old libraries supplied so that old programs that use them still
89run. The F<.pl> files will all eventually be converted into standard
90modules, and the F<.ph> files made by B<h2ph> will probably end up
91as extension modules made by B<h2xs>. (Some F<.ph> values may
92already be available through the POSIX, Errno, or Fcntl modules.)
93The B<pl2pm> file in the distribution may help in your conversion,
94but it's just a mechanical process and therefore far from bulletproof.
95
96=head2 Pragmatic Modules
97
98They work somewhat like compiler directives (pragmata) in that they
99tend to affect the compilation of your program, and thus will usually
100work well only when used within a C<use>, or C<no>. Most of these
101are lexically scoped, so an inner BLOCK may countermand them
102by saying:
103
104 no integer;
105 no strict 'refs';
106 no warnings;
107
108which lasts until the end of that BLOCK.
109
110Some pragmas are lexically scoped--typically those that affect the
111C<$^H> hints variable. Others affect the current package instead,
112like C<use vars> and C<use subs>, which allow you to predeclare a
113variables or subroutines within a particular I<file> rather than
114just a block. Such declarations are effective for the entire file
115for which they were declared. You cannot rescind them with C<no
116vars> or C<no subs>.
117
118The following pragmas are defined (and have their own documentation).
119
120=over 12
121
122EOF
123
124print OUT $_ for (sort @pragma);
125
126print OUT <<EOF;
127=back
128
129=head2 Standard Modules
130
131Standard, bundled modules are all expected to behave in a well-defined
132manner with respect to namespace pollution because they use the
133Exporter module. See their own documentation for details.
134
7ef5744c 135It's possible that not all modules listed below are installed on your
136system. For example, the GDBM_File module will not be installed if you
137don't have the gdbm library.
138
2e1d04bc 139=over 12
140
141EOF
142
143print OUT $_ for (sort @mod);
144
145print OUT <<'EOF';
146=back
147
148To find out I<all> modules installed on your system, including
149those without documentation or outside the standard release,
a4373870 150just use the following command (under the default win32 shell,
151double quotes should be used instead of single quotes).
2e1d04bc 152
a4373870 153 % perl -MFile::Find=find -MFile::Spec::Functions -Tlwe \
154 'find { wanted => sub { print canonpath $_ if /\.pm\z/ },
155 no_chdir => 1 }, @INC'
2e1d04bc 156
8518420c 157(The -T is here to prevent '.' from being listed in @INC.)
2e1d04bc 158They should all have their own documentation installed and accessible
159via your system man(1) command. If you do not have a B<find>
160program, you can use the Perl B<find2perl> program instead, which
161generates Perl code as output you can run through perl. If you
162have a B<man> program but it doesn't find your modules, you'll have
163to fix your manpath. See L<perl> for details. If you have no
164system B<man> command, you might try the B<perldoc> program.
165
8518420c 166Note also that the command C<perldoc perllocal> gives you a (possibly
167incomplete) list of the modules that have been further installed on
168your system. (The perllocal.pod file is updated by the standard MakeMaker
169install process.)
170
2e1d04bc 171=head2 Extension Modules
172
173Extension modules are written in C (or a mix of Perl and C). They
174are usually dynamically loaded into Perl if and when you need them,
da75cd15 175but may also be linked in statically. Supported extension modules
2e1d04bc 176include Socket, Fcntl, and POSIX.
177
178Many popular C extension modules do not come bundled (at least, not
179completely) due to their sizes, volatility, or simply lack of time
180for adequate testing and configuration across the multitude of
181platforms on which Perl was beta-tested. You are encouraged to
182look for them on CPAN (described below), or using web search engines
7ef5744c 183like Alta Vista or Google.
2e1d04bc 184
185=head1 CPAN
186
187CPAN stands for Comprehensive Perl Archive Network; it's a globally
188replicated trove of Perl materials, including documentation, style
189guides, tricks and traps, alternate ports to non-Unix systems and
190occasional binary distributions for these. Search engines for
1577cd80 191CPAN can be found at http://www.cpan.org/
2e1d04bc 192
193Most importantly, CPAN includes around a thousand unbundled modules,
194some of which require a C compiler to build. Major categories of
195modules are:
196
197=over
198
199=item *
ac634a9a 200
2e1d04bc 201Language Extensions and Documentation Tools
202
203=item *
ac634a9a 204
2e1d04bc 205Development Support
206
207=item *
ac634a9a 208
2e1d04bc 209Operating System Interfaces
210
211=item *
ac634a9a 212
2e1d04bc 213Networking, Device Control (modems) and InterProcess Communication
214
215=item *
ac634a9a 216
2e1d04bc 217Data Types and Data Type Utilities
218
219=item *
ac634a9a 220
2e1d04bc 221Database Interfaces
222
223=item *
ac634a9a 224
2e1d04bc 225User Interfaces
226
227=item *
ac634a9a 228
2e1d04bc 229Interfaces to / Emulations of Other Programming Languages
230
231=item *
ac634a9a 232
2e1d04bc 233File Names, File Systems and File Locking (see also File Handles)
234
235=item *
ac634a9a 236
2e1d04bc 237String Processing, Language Text Processing, Parsing, and Searching
238
239=item *
ac634a9a 240
2e1d04bc 241Option, Argument, Parameter, and Configuration File Processing
242
243=item *
ac634a9a 244
2e1d04bc 245Internationalization and Locale
246
247=item *
ac634a9a 248
2e1d04bc 249Authentication, Security, and Encryption
250
251=item *
ac634a9a 252
2e1d04bc 253World Wide Web, HTML, HTTP, CGI, MIME
254
255=item *
ac634a9a 256
2e1d04bc 257Server and Daemon Utilities
258
259=item *
ac634a9a 260
2e1d04bc 261Archiving and Compression
262
263=item *
ac634a9a 264
2e1d04bc 265Images, Pixmap and Bitmap Manipulation, Drawing, and Graphing
266
267=item *
ac634a9a 268
2e1d04bc 269Mail and Usenet News
270
271=item *
ac634a9a 272
2e1d04bc 273Control Flow Utilities (callbacks and exceptions etc)
274
275=item *
ac634a9a 276
2e1d04bc 277File Handle and Input/Output Stream Utilities
278
279=item *
ac634a9a 280
2e1d04bc 281Miscellaneous Modules
282
283=back
284
5df44211 285The list of the registered CPAN sites as of this writing follows.
286Please note that the sorting order is alphabetical on fields:
287
288Continent
289 |
290 |-->Country
291 |
292 |-->[state/province]
293 |
294 |-->ftp
295 |
296 |-->[http]
297
298and thus the North American servers happen to be listed between the
299European and the South American sites.
300
301You should try to choose one close to you.
2e1d04bc 302
4e860d0a 303=head2 Africa
304
305=over 4
306
5df44211 307=item South Africa
4e860d0a 308
5c5c2539 309 http://ftp.rucus.ru.ac.za/pub/perl/CPAN/
310 ftp://ftp.rucus.ru.ac.za/pub/perl/CPAN/
5df44211 311 ftp://ftp.is.co.za/programming/perl/CPAN/
5df44211 312 ftp://ftp.saix.net/pub/CPAN/
313 ftp://ftp.sun.ac.za/CPAN/CPAN/
4e860d0a 314
315=back
316
317=head2 Asia
318
319=over 4
320
5df44211 321=item China
4e860d0a 322
5c5c2539 323 http://cpan.linuxforum.net/
5df44211 324 http://cpan.shellhung.org/
325 ftp://ftp.shellhung.org/pub/CPAN
5c5c2539 326 ftp://mirrors.hknet.com/CPAN
c165c82a 327
5df44211 328=item Indonesia
c165c82a 329
5c5c2539 330 http://mirrors.tf.itb.ac.id/cpan/
5df44211 331 http://cpan.cbn.net.id/
332 ftp://ftp.cbn.net.id/mirror/CPAN
c165c82a 333
5df44211 334=item Israel
c165c82a 335
5df44211 336 ftp://ftp.iglu.org.il/pub/CPAN/
337 http://cpan.lerner.co.il/
338 http://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il/pub/software/perl/CPAN/
339 ftp://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il/pub/software/perl/CPAN/
c165c82a 340
5df44211 341=item Japan
c165c82a 342
5df44211 343 ftp://ftp.u-aizu.ac.jp/pub/CPAN
344 ftp://ftp.kddlabs.co.jp/CPAN/
5df44211 345 ftp://ftp.ayamura.org/pub/CPAN/
346 ftp://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
7a142657 347 http://ftp.cpan.jp/
348 ftp://ftp.cpan.jp/CPAN/
5df44211 349 ftp://ftp.dti.ad.jp/pub/lang/CPAN/
350 ftp://ftp.ring.gr.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
c165c82a 351
5c5c2539 352=item Malaysia
c165c82a 353
5c5c2539 354 http://cpan.MyBSD.org.my
355 http://mirror.leafbug.org/pub/CPAN
356 http://ossig.mncc.com.my/mirror/pub/CPAN
4e860d0a 357
5df44211 358=item Russian Federation
4e860d0a 359
5df44211 360 http://cpan.tomsk.ru
7a142657 361 ftp://cpan.tomsk.ru/
4e860d0a 362
5df44211 363=item Saudi Arabia
4e860d0a 364
5df44211 365 ftp://ftp.isu.net.sa/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 366
5df44211 367=item Singapore
4e860d0a 368
5c5c2539 369 http://CPAN.en.com.sg/
370 ftp://cpan.en.com.sg/
5df44211 371 http://mirror.averse.net/pub/CPAN
372 ftp://mirror.averse.net/pub/CPAN
5c5c2539 373 http://cpan.oss.eznetsols.org
374 ftp://ftp.oss.eznetsols.org/cpan
4e860d0a 375
5df44211 376=item South Korea
4e860d0a 377
5df44211 378 http://CPAN.bora.net/
379 ftp://ftp.bora.net/pub/CPAN/
5c5c2539 380 http://mirror.kr.FreeBSD.org/CPAN
381 ftp://ftp.kr.FreeBSD.org/pub/CPAN
4e860d0a 382
5df44211 383=item Taiwan
4e860d0a 384
5df44211 385 ftp://ftp.nctu.edu.tw/UNIX/perl/CPAN
5c5c2539 386 http://cpan.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/
387 ftp://cpan.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw/pub/CPAN
388 http://ftp.isu.edu.tw/pub/CPAN
389 ftp://ftp.isu.edu.tw/pub/CPAN
5df44211 390 ftp://ftp1.sinica.edu.tw/pub1/perl/CPAN/
391 http://ftp.tku.edu.tw/pub/CPAN/
392 ftp://ftp.tku.edu.tw/pub/CPAN/
7a142657 393
5df44211 394=item Thailand
4e860d0a 395
5df44211 396 ftp://ftp.loxinfo.co.th/pub/cpan/
397 ftp://ftp.cs.riubon.ac.th/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
4e860d0a 398
399=back
400
401=head2 Central America
402
403=over 4
404
5df44211 405=item Costa Rica
4e860d0a 406
5df44211 407 http://ftp.ucr.ac.cr/Unix/CPAN/
408 ftp://ftp.ucr.ac.cr/pub/Unix/CPAN/
4e860d0a 409
410=back
411
412=head2 Europe
413
414=over 4
415
5df44211 416=item Austria
4e860d0a 417
5df44211 418 ftp://ftp.tuwien.ac.at/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 419
5df44211 420=item Belgium
4e860d0a 421
5df44211 422 http://ftp.easynet.be/pub/CPAN/
423 ftp://ftp.easynet.be/pub/CPAN/
424 http://cpan.skynet.be
5c5c2539 425 ftp://ftp.cpan.skynet.be/pub/CPAN
5df44211 426 ftp://ftp.kulnet.kuleuven.ac.be/pub/mirror/CPAN/
4e860d0a 427
7a142657 428=item Bosnia and Herzegovina
429
430 http://cpan.blic.net/
431
5df44211 432=item Bulgaria
4e860d0a 433
5c5c2539 434 http://cpan.online.bg
435 ftp://cpan.online.bg/cpan
436 http://cpan.zadnik.org
437 ftp://ftp.zadnik.org/mirrors/CPAN/
5df44211 438 http://cpan.lirex.net/
439 ftp://ftp.lirex.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN
4e860d0a 440
5df44211 441=item Croatia
4e860d0a 442
5df44211 443 http://ftp.linux.hr/pub/CPAN/
444 ftp://ftp.linux.hr/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 445
5df44211 446=item Czech Republic
4e860d0a 447
5df44211 448 ftp://ftp.fi.muni.cz/pub/CPAN/
449 ftp://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/MIRRORS/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
4e860d0a 450
5df44211 451=item Denmark
4e860d0a 452
5df44211 453 http://mirrors.sunsite.dk/cpan/
454 ftp://sunsite.dk/mirrors/cpan/
455 http://cpan.cybercity.dk
456 http://www.cpan.dk/CPAN/
457 ftp://www.cpan.dk/ftp.cpan.org/CPAN/
4e860d0a 458
5df44211 459=item Estonia
4e860d0a 460
5df44211 461 ftp://ftp.ut.ee/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
4e860d0a 462
5df44211 463=item Finland
4e860d0a 464
5df44211 465 ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
5c5c2539 466 http://mirror.eunet.fi/CPAN
4e860d0a 467
5df44211 468=item France
c165c82a 469
5c5c2539 470 http://www.enstimac.fr/Perl/CPAN
5df44211 471 http://ftp.u-paris10.fr/perl/CPAN
472 ftp://ftp.u-paris10.fr/perl/CPAN
473 http://cpan.mirrors.easynet.fr/
474 ftp://cpan.mirrors.easynet.fr/pub/ftp.cpan.org/
475 ftp://ftp.club-internet.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
476 http://fr.cpan.org/
477 ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
478 ftp://ftp.oleane.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
479 ftp://ftp.pasteur.fr/pub/computing/CPAN/
480 http://mir2.ovh.net/ftp.cpan.org
481 ftp://mir1.ovh.net/ftp.cpan.org
5c5c2539 482 http://ftp.crihan.fr/mirrors/ftp.cpan.org/
483 ftp://ftp.crihan.fr/mirrors/ftp.cpan.org/
5df44211 484 http://ftp.u-strasbg.fr/CPAN
485 ftp://ftp.u-strasbg.fr/CPAN
5df44211 486 ftp://cpan.cict.fr/pub/CPAN/
487 ftp://ftp.uvsq.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
c165c82a 488
5df44211 489=item Germany
c165c82a 490
5c5c2539 491 ftp://ftp.rub.de/pub/CPAN/
5df44211 492 ftp://ftp.freenet.de/pub/ftp.cpan.org/pub/CPAN/
493 ftp://ftp.uni-erlangen.de/pub/source/CPAN/
494 ftp://ftp-stud.fht-esslingen.de/pub/Mirrors/CPAN
495 http://pandemonium.tiscali.de/pub/CPAN/
496 ftp://pandemonium.tiscali.de/pub/CPAN/
497 http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
498 ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
499 ftp://ftp.uni-hamburg.de/pub/soft/lang/perl/CPAN/
500 ftp://ftp.leo.org/pub/CPAN/
501 http://cpan.noris.de/
502 ftp://cpan.noris.de/pub/CPAN/
503 ftp://ftp.mpi-sb.mpg.de/pub/perl/CPAN/
504 ftp://ftp.gmd.de/mirrors/CPAN/
4e860d0a 505
5df44211 506=item Greece
4e860d0a 507
5c5c2539 508 ftp://ftp.acn.gr/pub/lang/perl
5df44211 509 ftp://ftp.forthnet.gr/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
510 ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/lang/perl/
4e860d0a 511
5df44211 512=item Hungary
4e860d0a 513
5df44211 514 http://ftp.kfki.hu/packages/perl/CPAN/
515 ftp://ftp.kfki.hu/pub/packages/perl/CPAN/
4e860d0a 516
5df44211 517=item Iceland
4e860d0a 518
5df44211 519 http://ftp.rhnet.is/pub/CPAN/
520 ftp://ftp.rhnet.is/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 521
5df44211 522=item Ireland
4e860d0a 523
5df44211 524 http://cpan.indigo.ie/
525 ftp://cpan.indigo.ie/pub/CPAN/
5c5c2539 526 http://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/ftp.perl.org/pub/CPAN
527 ftp://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/ftp.perl.org/pub/CPAN
5df44211 528 http://sunsite.compapp.dcu.ie/pub/perl/
529 ftp://sunsite.compapp.dcu.ie/pub/perl/
4e860d0a 530
5df44211 531=item Italy
4e860d0a 532
5df44211 533 http://cpan.nettuno.it/
534 http://gusp.dyndns.org/CPAN/
535 ftp://gusp.dyndns.org/pub/CPAN
536 http://softcity.iol.it/cpan
537 ftp://softcity.iol.it/pub/cpan
538 ftp://ftp.unina.it/pub/Other/CPAN/CPAN/
539 ftp://ftp.unipi.it/pub/mirror/perl/CPAN/
540 ftp://cis.uniRoma2.it/CPAN/
541 ftp://ftp.edisontel.it/pub/CPAN_Mirror/
5c5c2539 542 http://cpan.flashnet.it/
5df44211 543 ftp://ftp.flashnet.it/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 544
5df44211 545=item Latvia
4e860d0a 546
5df44211 547 http://kvin.lv/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 548
5df44211 549=item Lithuania
4e860d0a 550
5df44211 551 ftp://ftp.unix.lt/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 552
5df44211 553=item Netherlands
4e860d0a 554
5df44211 555 ftp://download.xs4all.nl/pub/mirror/CPAN/
556 ftp://ftp.nl.uu.net/pub/CPAN/
557 ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
558 http://cpan.cybercomm.nl/
559 ftp://mirror.cybercomm.nl/pub/CPAN
5c5c2539 560 ftp://mirror.vuurwerk.nl/pub/CPAN/
5df44211 561 ftp://ftp.cpan.nl/pub/CPAN/
562 http://ftp.easynet.nl/mirror/CPAN
563 ftp://ftp.easynet.nl/mirror/CPAN
564 http://archive.cs.uu.nl/mirror/CPAN/
565 ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/mirror/CPAN/
4e860d0a 566
5df44211 567=item Norway
568
569 ftp://ftp.uninett.no/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
570 ftp://ftp.uit.no/pub/languages/perl/cpan/
571
572=item Poland
573
7a142657 574 ftp.mega.net.pl/CPAN
5df44211 575 ftp://ftp.man.torun.pl/pub/doc/CPAN/
576 ftp://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/pub/CPAN/
577
578=item Portugal
579
580 ftp://ftp.ua.pt/pub/CPAN/
581 ftp://perl.di.uminho.pt/pub/CPAN/
582 http://cpan.dei.uc.pt/
583 ftp://ftp.dei.uc.pt/pub/CPAN
5c5c2539 584 ftp://ftp.nfsi.pt/pub/CPAN
585 http://ftp.linux.pt/pub/mirrors/CPAN
586 ftp://ftp.linux.pt/pub/mirrors/CPAN
5df44211 587 http://cpan.ip.pt/
588 ftp://cpan.ip.pt/pub/cpan/
5c5c2539 589 http://cpan.telepac.pt/
590 ftp://ftp.telepac.pt/pub/cpan/
4e860d0a 591
5df44211 592=item Romania
4e860d0a 593
5c5c2539 594 ftp://ftp.bio-net.ro/pub/CPAN
5df44211 595 ftp://ftp.kappa.ro/pub/mirrors/ftp.perl.org/pub/CPAN/
7a142657 596 ftp://ftp.lug.ro/CPAN
5c5c2539 597 ftp://ftp.roedu.net/pub/CPAN/
5df44211 598 ftp://ftp.dntis.ro/pub/cpan/
5c5c2539 599 ftp://ftp.iasi.roedu.net/pub/mirrors/ftp.cpan.org/
600 http://cpan.ambra.ro/
601 ftp://ftp.ambra.ro/pub/CPAN
5df44211 602 ftp://ftp.dnttm.ro/pub/CPAN/
603 ftp://ftp.lasting.ro/pub/CPAN
604 ftp://ftp.timisoara.roedu.net/mirrors/CPAN/
4e860d0a 605
5df44211 606=item Russia
4e860d0a 607
5df44211 608 ftp://ftp.chg.ru/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
609 http://cpan.rinet.ru/
610 ftp://cpan.rinet.ru/pub/mirror/CPAN/
611 ftp://ftp.aha.ru/pub/CPAN/
7a142657 612 ftp://ftp.corbina.ru/pub/CPAN/
5df44211 613 http://cpan.sai.msu.ru/
614 ftp://ftp.sai.msu.su/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
4e860d0a 615
5df44211 616=item Slovakia
4e860d0a 617
5df44211 618 ftp://ftp.cvt.stuba.sk/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 619
5df44211 620=item Slovenia
4e860d0a 621
5df44211 622 ftp://ftp.arnes.si/software/perl/CPAN/
4e860d0a 623
5df44211 624=item Spain
4e860d0a 625
5df44211 626 http://cpan.imasd.elmundo.es/
627 ftp://ftp.rediris.es/mirror/CPAN/
7a142657 628 ftp://ftp.ri.telefonica-data.net/
5df44211 629 ftp://ftp.etse.urv.es/pub/perl/
4e860d0a 630
5df44211 631=item Sweden
4e860d0a 632
5df44211 633 http://ftp.du.se/CPAN/
634 ftp://ftp.du.se/pub/CPAN/
5c5c2539 635 http://mirror.dataphone.se/CPAN
5df44211 636 ftp://mirror.dataphone.se/pub/CPAN
637 ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
4e860d0a 638
5df44211 639=item Switzerland
4e860d0a 640
7a142657 641 http://cpan.mirror.solnet.ch/
642 ftp://ftp.solnet.ch/mirror/CPAN/
5df44211 643 ftp://ftp.danyk.ch/CPAN/
644 ftp://sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch/mirror/CPAN/
4e860d0a 645
5df44211 646=item Turkey
4e860d0a 647
5df44211 648 http://ftp.ulak.net.tr/perl/CPAN/
649 ftp://ftp.ulak.net.tr/perl/CPAN
650 ftp://sunsite.bilkent.edu.tr/pub/languages/CPAN/
c165c82a 651
5df44211 652=item Ukraine
c165c82a 653
5df44211 654 http://cpan.org.ua/
655 ftp://cpan.org.ua/
656 ftp://ftp.perl.org.ua/pub/CPAN/
5c5c2539 657 http://no-more.kiev.ua/CPAN/
658 ftp://no-more.kiev.ua/pub/CPAN/
c165c82a 659
5df44211 660=item United Kingdom
d4858812 661
5df44211 662 http://www.mirror.ac.uk/sites/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
663 ftp://ftp.mirror.ac.uk/sites/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
664 http://cpan.teleglobe.net/
665 ftp://cpan.teleglobe.net/pub/CPAN
5c5c2539 666 http://cpan.mirror.anlx.net/
667 ftp://ftp.mirror.anlx.net/CPAN/
7a142657 668 http://cpan.etla.org/
669 ftp://cpan.etla.org/pub/CPAN
5df44211 670 ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/CPAN/
671 http://cpan.m.flirble.org/
672 ftp://ftp.flirble.org/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
673 ftp://ftp.plig.org/pub/CPAN/
5c5c2539 674 http://cpan.hambule.co.uk/
5df44211 675 http://cpan.mirrors.clockerz.net/
676 ftp://ftp.clockerz.net/pub/CPAN/
677 ftp://usit.shef.ac.uk/pub/packages/CPAN/
d4858812 678
4e860d0a 679=back
680
681=head2 North America
682
683=over 4
684
5c5c2539 685=item Canada
686
7a142657 687=over 8
5c5c2539 688
5df44211 689=item Alberta
4e860d0a 690
5c5c2539 691 http://cpan.sunsite.ualberta.ca/
692 ftp://cpan.sunsite.ualberta.ca/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 693
5df44211 694=item Manitoba
4e860d0a 695
5df44211 696 http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/pub/CPAN/
697 ftp://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 698
5df44211 699=item Nova Scotia
4e860d0a 700
5df44211 701 ftp://cpan.chebucto.ns.ca/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 702
5df44211 703=item Ontario
4e860d0a 704
5c5c2539 705 ftp://ftp.nrc.ca/pub/CPAN/
c165c82a 706
7a142657 707=back
708
5df44211 709=item Mexico
c165c82a 710
5df44211 711 http://cpan.azc.uam.mx
712 ftp://cpan.azc.uam.mx/mirrors/CPAN
7a142657 713 http://www.cpan.unam.mx/
714 ftp://ftp.unam.mx/pub/CPAN
5df44211 715 http://www.msg.com.mx/CPAN/
716 ftp://ftp.msg.com.mx/pub/CPAN/
c165c82a 717
5c5c2539 718=item United States
d4858812 719
7a142657 720=over 8
4e860d0a 721
5df44211 722=item Alabama
4e860d0a 723
5df44211 724 http://mirror.hiwaay.net/CPAN/
725 ftp://mirror.hiwaay.net/CPAN/
4e860d0a 726
5df44211 727=item California
4e860d0a 728
5df44211 729 http://cpan.develooper.com/
730 http://www.cpan.org/
731 ftp://cpan.valueclick.com/pub/CPAN/
7a142657 732 http://www.mednor.net/ftp/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
733 ftp://ftp.mednor.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
5df44211 734 http://mirrors.gossamer-threads.com/CPAN
735 ftp://cpan.nas.nasa.gov/pub/perl/CPAN/
736 http://mirrors.kernel.org/cpan/
737 ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/pub/CPAN
7a142657 738 http://cpan-sj.viaverio.com/
739 ftp://cpan-sj.viaverio.com/pub/CPAN/
5df44211 740 http://cpan.digisle.net/
741 ftp://cpan.digisle.net/pub/CPAN
742 http://www.perl.com/CPAN/
7a142657 743 http://www.uberlan.net/CPAN
4e860d0a 744
5df44211 745=item Colorado
4e860d0a 746
5df44211 747 ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
7a142657 748 http://cpan.four10.com
4e860d0a 749
5df44211 750=item Delaware
4e860d0a 751
5df44211 752 http://ftp.lug.udel.edu/pub/CPAN
753 ftp://ftp.lug.udel.edu/pub/CPAN
4e860d0a 754
5df44211 755=item District of Columbia
4e860d0a 756
5df44211 757 ftp://ftp.dc.aleron.net/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 758
5df44211 759=item Florida
c165c82a 760
5df44211 761 ftp://ftp.cise.ufl.edu/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
762 http://mirror.csit.fsu.edu/pub/CPAN/
763 ftp://mirror.csit.fsu.edu/pub/CPAN/
764 http://cpan.mirrors.nks.net/
c165c82a 765
5df44211 766=item Indiana
4e860d0a 767
5df44211 768 ftp://ftp.uwsg.iu.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
769 http://cpan.netnitco.net/
770 ftp://cpan.netnitco.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
771 http://archive.progeny.com/CPAN/
772 ftp://archive.progeny.com/CPAN/
5c5c2539 773 http://fx.saintjoe.edu/pub/CPAN
774 ftp://ftp.saintjoe.edu/pub/CPAN
5df44211 775 http://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pub/CPAN
776 ftp://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pub/CPAN
4e860d0a 777
5df44211 778=item Kentucky
4e860d0a 779
5df44211 780 http://cpan.uky.edu/
781 ftp://cpan.uky.edu/pub/CPAN/
5c5c2539 782 http://slugsite.louisville.edu/cpan
783 ftp://slugsite.louisville.edu/CPAN
4e860d0a 784
5df44211 785=item Massachusetts
4e860d0a 786
5c5c2539 787 http://mirrors.towardex.com/CPAN
788 ftp://mirrors.towardex.com/pub/CPAN
5df44211 789 ftp://ftp.ccs.neu.edu/net/mirrors/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
4e860d0a 790
5df44211 791=item Michigan
4e860d0a 792
5df44211 793 ftp://cpan.cse.msu.edu/
4e860d0a 794
5c5c2539 795=item Nevada
796
797 http://www.oss.redundant.com/pub/CPAN
798 ftp://www.oss.redundant.com/pub/CPAN
799
5df44211 800=item New Jersey
4e860d0a 801
5c5c2539 802 http://ftp.cpanel.net/pub/CPAN/
5df44211 803 ftp://ftp.cpanel.net/pub/CPAN/
804 http://cpan.teleglobe.net/
805 ftp://cpan.teleglobe.net/pub/CPAN
4e860d0a 806
5df44211 807=item New York
4e860d0a 808
5df44211 809 http://cpan.belfry.net/
5c5c2539 810 http://cpan.erlbaum.net/
811 ftp://cpan.erlbaum.net/
5df44211 812 http://cpan.thepirtgroup.com/
813 ftp://cpan.thepirtgroup.com/
814 ftp://ftp.stealth.net/pub/CPAN/
815 http://www.rge.com/pub/languages/perl/
816 ftp://ftp.rge.com/pub/languages/perl/
4e860d0a 817
5df44211 818=item North Carolina
4e860d0a 819
7a142657 820 http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
821 ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
5df44211 822 ftp://ftp.duke.edu/pub/perl/
5c5c2539 823 ftp://ftp.ncsu.edu/pub/mirror/CPAN/
4e860d0a 824
5df44211 825=item Oklahoma
4e860d0a 826
5df44211 827 ftp://ftp.ou.edu/mirrors/CPAN/
4e860d0a 828
5df44211 829=item Oregon
4e860d0a 830
5df44211 831 ftp://ftp.orst.edu/pub/CPAN
4e860d0a 832
5df44211 833=item Pennsylvania
4e860d0a 834
5df44211 835 http://ftp.epix.net/CPAN/
836 ftp://ftp.epix.net/pub/languages/perl/
837 http://mirrors.phenominet.com/pub/CPAN/
838 ftp://mirrors.phenominet.com/pub/CPAN/
839 http://cpan.pair.com/
840 ftp://cpan.pair.com/pub/CPAN/
841 ftp://carroll.cac.psu.edu/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 842
5df44211 843=item Tennessee
4e860d0a 844
5df44211 845 ftp://ftp.sunsite.utk.edu/pub/CPAN/
4e860d0a 846
5df44211 847=item Texas
4e860d0a 848
5df44211 849 http://ftp.sedl.org/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
5c5c2539 850 http://www.binarycode.org/cpan
5df44211 851 ftp://mirror.telentente.com/pub/CPAN
5c5c2539 852 http://mirrors.theonlinerecordstore.com/CPAN
4e860d0a 853
5df44211 854=item Utah
4e860d0a 855
5df44211 856 ftp://mirror.xmission.com/CPAN/
4e860d0a 857
5df44211 858=item Virginia
4e860d0a 859
7a142657 860 http://cpan-du.viaverio.com/
861 ftp://cpan-du.viaverio.com/pub/CPAN/
5df44211 862 http://mirrors.rcn.net/pub/lang/CPAN/
863 ftp://mirrors.rcn.net/pub/lang/CPAN/
864 http://perl.secsup.org/
865 ftp://perl.secsup.org/pub/perl/
5c5c2539 866 http://noc.cvaix.com/mirrors/CPAN/
4e860d0a 867
5c5c2539 868=item Washington
4e860d0a 869
5df44211 870 http://cpan.llarian.net/
871 ftp://cpan.llarian.net/pub/CPAN/
872 http://cpan.mirrorcentral.com/
873 ftp://ftp.mirrorcentral.com/pub/CPAN/
874 ftp://ftp-mirror.internap.com/pub/CPAN/
d4858812 875
5df44211 876=item Wisconsin
d4858812 877
5df44211 878 http://mirror.sit.wisc.edu/pub/CPAN/
879 ftp://mirror.sit.wisc.edu/pub/CPAN/
7a142657 880 http://mirror.aphix.com/CPAN
881 ftp://mirror.aphix.com/pub/CPAN
4e860d0a 882
883=back
884
5c5c2539 885=back
886
4e860d0a 887=head2 Oceania
888
889=over 4
890
5df44211 891=item Australia
4e860d0a 892
5df44211 893 http://ftp.planetmirror.com/pub/CPAN/
894 ftp://ftp.planetmirror.com/pub/CPAN/
895 ftp://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/perl/CPAN/
896 ftp://cpan.topend.com.au/pub/CPAN/
7a142657 897 http://cpan.mirrors.ilisys.com.au
4e860d0a 898
5df44211 899=item New Zealand
d4858812 900
5df44211 901 ftp://ftp.auckland.ac.nz/pub/perl/CPAN/
5c5c2539 902
903=item United States
904
905 http://aniani.ifa.hawaii.edu/CPAN/
906 ftp://aniani.ifa.hawaii.edu/CPAN/
4e860d0a 907
908=back
909
910=head2 South America
911
912=over 4
913
5df44211 914=item Argentina
4e860d0a 915
5df44211 916 ftp://mirrors.bannerlandia.com.ar/mirrors/CPAN/
5c5c2539 917 http://www.linux.org.ar/mirrors/cpan
918 ftp://ftp.linux.org.ar/mirrors/cpan
4e860d0a 919
5df44211 920=item Brazil
4e860d0a 921
5df44211 922 ftp://cpan.pop-mg.com.br/pub/CPAN/
923 ftp://ftp.matrix.com.br/pub/perl/CPAN/
5c5c2539 924 http://cpan.hostsul.com.br/
925 ftp://cpan.hostsul.com.br/
4e860d0a 926
5df44211 927=item Chile
4e860d0a 928
5df44211 929 http://cpan.netglobalis.net/
930 ftp://cpan.netglobalis.net/pub/CPAN/
2e1d04bc 931
932=back
933
5df44211 934=head2 RSYNC Mirrors
935
7a142657 936 www.linux.org.ar::cpan
937 theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca::CPAN
938 ftp.shellhung.org::CPAN
939 rsync.nic.funet.fi::CPAN
940 ftp.u-paris10.fr::CPAN
941 mir1.ovh.net::CPAN
942 rsync://ftp.crihan.fr::CPAN
943 ftp.gwdg.de::FTP/languages/perl/CPAN/
944 ftp.leo.org::CPAN
945 ftp.cbn.net.id::CPAN
946 rsync://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/ftp.perl.org/pub/CPAN
947 ftp.iglu.org.il::CPAN
948 gusp.dyndns.org::cpan
949 ftp.kddlabs.co.jp::cpan
950 ftp.ayamura.org::pub/CPAN/
951 mirror.leafbug.org::CPAN
952 rsync.en.com.sg::CPAN
953 mirror.averse.net::cpan
954 rsync.oss.eznetsols.org
955 ftp.kr.FreeBSD.org::CPAN
956 ftp.solnet.ch::CPAN
957 cpan.cdpa.nsysu.edu.tw::CPAN
958 cpan.teleglobe.net::CPAN
959 rsync://rsync.mirror.anlx.net::CPAN
960 ftp.sedl.org::cpan
961 ibiblio.org::CPAN
962 cpan-du.viaverio.com::CPAN
963 aniani.ifa.hawaii.edu::CPAN
964 archive.progeny.com::CPAN
965 rsync://slugsite.louisville.edu::CPAN
966 mirror.aphix.com::CPAN
967 cpan.teleglobe.net::CPAN
968 ftp.lug.udel.edu::cpan
969 mirrors.kernel.org::mirrors/CPAN
970 mirrors.phenominet.com::CPAN
971 cpan.pair.com::CPAN
972 cpan-sj.viaverio.com::CPAN
973 mirror.csit.fsu.edu::CPAN
974 csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu::CPAN
5df44211 975
2e1d04bc 976For an up-to-date listing of CPAN sites,
4e860d0a 977see http://www.cpan.org/SITES or ftp://www.cpan.org/SITES .
2e1d04bc 978
979=head1 Modules: Creation, Use, and Abuse
980
981(The following section is borrowed directly from Tim Bunce's modules
982file, available at your nearest CPAN site.)
983
984Perl implements a class using a package, but the presence of a
985package doesn't imply the presence of a class. A package is just a
986namespace. A class is a package that provides subroutines that can be
987used as methods. A method is just a subroutine that expects, as its
988first argument, either the name of a package (for "static" methods),
989or a reference to something (for "virtual" methods).
990
991A module is a file that (by convention) provides a class of the same
992name (sans the .pm), plus an import method in that class that can be
993called to fetch exported symbols. This module may implement some of
994its methods by loading dynamic C or C++ objects, but that should be
995totally transparent to the user of the module. Likewise, the module
996might set up an AUTOLOAD function to slurp in subroutine definitions on
997demand, but this is also transparent. Only the F<.pm> file is required to
998exist. See L<perlsub>, L<perltoot>, and L<AutoLoader> for details about
999the AUTOLOAD mechanism.
1000
1001=head2 Guidelines for Module Creation
1002
1003=over 4
1004
ac634a9a 1005=item *
1006
1007Do similar modules already exist in some form?
2e1d04bc 1008
1009If so, please try to reuse the existing modules either in whole or
1010by inheriting useful features into a new class. If this is not
1011practical try to get together with the module authors to work on
1012extending or enhancing the functionality of the existing modules.
1013A perfect example is the plethora of packages in perl4 for dealing
1014with command line options.
1015
1016If you are writing a module to expand an already existing set of
1017modules, please coordinate with the author of the package. It
1018helps if you follow the same naming scheme and module interaction
1019scheme as the original author.
1020
ac634a9a 1021=item *
1022
1023Try to design the new module to be easy to extend and reuse.
2e1d04bc 1024
1025Try to C<use warnings;> (or C<use warnings qw(...);>).
1026Remember that you can add C<no warnings qw(...);> to individual blocks
1027of code that need less warnings.
1028
1029Use blessed references. Use the two argument form of bless to bless
1030into the class name given as the first parameter of the constructor,
1031e.g.,:
1032
1033 sub new {
1034 my $class = shift;
1035 return bless {}, $class;
1036 }
1037
1038or even this if you'd like it to be used as either a static
1039or a virtual method.
1040
1041 sub new {
1042 my $self = shift;
1043 my $class = ref($self) || $self;
1044 return bless {}, $class;
1045 }
1046
1047Pass arrays as references so more parameters can be added later
1048(it's also faster). Convert functions into methods where
1049appropriate. Split large methods into smaller more flexible ones.
1050Inherit methods from other modules if appropriate.
1051
1052Avoid class name tests like: C<die "Invalid" unless ref $ref eq 'FOO'>.
1053Generally you can delete the C<eq 'FOO'> part with no harm at all.
1054Let the objects look after themselves! Generally, avoid hard-wired
1055class names as far as possible.
1056
1057Avoid C<< $r->Class::func() >> where using C<@ISA=qw(... Class ...)> and
1058C<< $r->func() >> would work (see L<perlbot> for more details).
1059
1060Use autosplit so little used or newly added functions won't be a
1061burden to programs that don't use them. Add test functions to
1062the module after __END__ either using AutoSplit or by saying:
1063
1064 eval join('',<main::DATA>) || die $@ unless caller();
1065
1066Does your module pass the 'empty subclass' test? If you say
1067C<@SUBCLASS::ISA = qw(YOURCLASS);> your applications should be able
1068to use SUBCLASS in exactly the same way as YOURCLASS. For example,
1069does your application still work if you change: C<$obj = new YOURCLASS;>
1070into: C<$obj = new SUBCLASS;> ?
1071
1072Avoid keeping any state information in your packages. It makes it
1073difficult for multiple other packages to use yours. Keep state
1074information in objects.
1075
1076Always use B<-w>.
1077
1078Try to C<use strict;> (or C<use strict qw(...);>).
1079Remember that you can add C<no strict qw(...);> to individual blocks
1080of code that need less strictness.
1081
1082Always use B<-w>.
1083
1084Follow the guidelines in the perlstyle(1) manual.
1085
1086Always use B<-w>.
1087
ac634a9a 1088=item *
1089
1090Some simple style guidelines
2e1d04bc 1091
1092The perlstyle manual supplied with Perl has many helpful points.
1093
1094Coding style is a matter of personal taste. Many people evolve their
1095style over several years as they learn what helps them write and
1096maintain good code. Here's one set of assorted suggestions that
1097seem to be widely used by experienced developers:
1098
1099Use underscores to separate words. It is generally easier to read
1100$var_names_like_this than $VarNamesLikeThis, especially for
1101non-native speakers of English. It's also a simple rule that works
1102consistently with VAR_NAMES_LIKE_THIS.
1103
1104Package/Module names are an exception to this rule. Perl informally
1105reserves lowercase module names for 'pragma' modules like integer
1106and strict. Other modules normally begin with a capital letter and
1107use mixed case with no underscores (need to be short and portable).
1108
1109You may find it helpful to use letter case to indicate the scope
1110or nature of a variable. For example:
1111
1112 $ALL_CAPS_HERE constants only (beware clashes with Perl vars)
1113 $Some_Caps_Here package-wide global/static
1114 $no_caps_here function scope my() or local() variables
1115
1116Function and method names seem to work best as all lowercase.
1117e.g., C<< $obj->as_string() >>.
1118
1119You can use a leading underscore to indicate that a variable or
1120function should not be used outside the package that defined it.
1121
ac634a9a 1122=item *
1123
1124Select what to export.
2e1d04bc 1125
1126Do NOT export method names!
1127
1128Do NOT export anything else by default without a good reason!
1129
1130Exports pollute the namespace of the module user. If you must
1131export try to use @EXPORT_OK in preference to @EXPORT and avoid
1132short or common names to reduce the risk of name clashes.
1133
1134Generally anything not exported is still accessible from outside the
1135module using the ModuleName::item_name (or C<< $blessed_ref->method >>)
1136syntax. By convention you can use a leading underscore on names to
1137indicate informally that they are 'internal' and not for public use.
1138
1139(It is actually possible to get private functions by saying:
1140C<my $subref = sub { ... }; &$subref;>. But there's no way to call that
1141directly as a method, because a method must have a name in the symbol
1142table.)
1143
1144As a general rule, if the module is trying to be object oriented
1145then export nothing. If it's just a collection of functions then
1146@EXPORT_OK anything but use @EXPORT with caution.
1147
ac634a9a 1148=item *
1149
1150Select a name for the module.
2e1d04bc 1151
1152This name should be as descriptive, accurate, and complete as
1153possible. Avoid any risk of ambiguity. Always try to use two or
1154more whole words. Generally the name should reflect what is special
1155about what the module does rather than how it does it. Please use
1156nested module names to group informally or categorize a module.
1157There should be a very good reason for a module not to have a nested name.
1158Module names should begin with a capital letter.
1159
1160Having 57 modules all called Sort will not make life easy for anyone
1161(though having 23 called Sort::Quick is only marginally better :-).
1162Imagine someone trying to install your module alongside many others.
1163If in any doubt ask for suggestions in comp.lang.perl.misc.
1164
1165If you are developing a suite of related modules/classes it's good
1166practice to use nested classes with a common prefix as this will
1167avoid namespace clashes. For example: Xyz::Control, Xyz::View,
1168Xyz::Model etc. Use the modules in this list as a naming guide.
1169
1170If adding a new module to a set, follow the original author's
1171standards for naming modules and the interface to methods in
1172those modules.
1173
4844a3be 1174If developing modules for private internal or project specific use,
1175that will never be released to the public, then you should ensure
1176that their names will not clash with any future public module. You
1177can do this either by using the reserved Local::* category or by
1178using a category name that includes an underscore like Foo_Corp::*.
1179
2e1d04bc 1180To be portable each component of a module name should be limited to
118111 characters. If it might be used on MS-DOS then try to ensure each is
1182unique in the first 8 characters. Nested modules make this easier.
1183
ac634a9a 1184=item *
1185
1186Have you got it right?
2e1d04bc 1187
1188How do you know that you've made the right decisions? Have you
1189picked an interface design that will cause problems later? Have
1190you picked the most appropriate name? Do you have any questions?
1191
1192The best way to know for sure, and pick up many helpful suggestions,
1193is to ask someone who knows. Comp.lang.perl.misc is read by just about
1194all the people who develop modules and it's the best place to ask.
1195
1196All you need to do is post a short summary of the module, its
1197purpose and interfaces. A few lines on each of the main methods is
1198probably enough. (If you post the whole module it might be ignored
1199by busy people - generally the very people you want to read it!)
1200
1201Don't worry about posting if you can't say when the module will be
1202ready - just say so in the message. It might be worth inviting
1203others to help you, they may be able to complete it for you!
1204
ac634a9a 1205=item *
1206
1207README and other Additional Files.
2e1d04bc 1208
1209It's well known that software developers usually fully document the
1210software they write. If, however, the world is in urgent need of
1211your software and there is not enough time to write the full
1212documentation please at least provide a README file containing:
1213
1214=over 10
1215
1216=item *
ac634a9a 1217
2e1d04bc 1218A description of the module/package/extension etc.
1219
1220=item *
ac634a9a 1221
2e1d04bc 1222A copyright notice - see below.
1223
1224=item *
ac634a9a 1225
2e1d04bc 1226Prerequisites - what else you may need to have.
1227
1228=item *
ac634a9a 1229
2e1d04bc 1230How to build it - possible changes to Makefile.PL etc.
1231
1232=item *
ac634a9a 1233
2e1d04bc 1234How to install it.
1235
1236=item *
ac634a9a 1237
2e1d04bc 1238Recent changes in this release, especially incompatibilities
1239
1240=item *
ac634a9a 1241
2e1d04bc 1242Changes / enhancements you plan to make in the future.
1243
1244=back
1245
1246If the README file seems to be getting too large you may wish to
1247split out some of the sections into separate files: INSTALL,
1248Copying, ToDo etc.
1249
1250=over 4
1251
c165c82a 1252=item *
2e1d04bc 1253
c165c82a 1254Adding a Copyright Notice.
ac634a9a 1255
2e1d04bc 1256How you choose to license your work is a personal decision.
1257The general mechanism is to assert your Copyright and then make
1258a declaration of how others may copy/use/modify your work.
1259
2a551100 1260Perl, for example, is supplied with two types of licence: The GNU GPL
1261and The Artistic Licence (see the files README, Copying, and Artistic,
1262or L<perlgpl> and L<perlartistic>). Larry has good reasons for NOT
1263just using the GNU GPL.
2e1d04bc 1264
1265My personal recommendation, out of respect for Larry, Perl, and the
1266Perl community at large is to state something simply like:
1267
1268 Copyright (c) 1995 Your Name. All rights reserved.
1269 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
1270 modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
1271
1272This statement should at least appear in the README file. You may
1273also wish to include it in a Copying file and your source files.
1274Remember to include the other words in addition to the Copyright.
1275
ac634a9a 1276=item *
1277
1278Give the module a version/issue/release number.
2e1d04bc 1279
1280To be fully compatible with the Exporter and MakeMaker modules you
1281should store your module's version number in a non-my package
1282variable called $VERSION. This should be a floating point
1283number with at least two digits after the decimal (i.e., hundredths,
1284e.g, C<$VERSION = "0.01">). Don't use a "1.3.2" style version.
1285See L<Exporter> for details.
1286
1287It may be handy to add a function or method to retrieve the number.
1288Use the number in announcements and archive file names when
1289releasing the module (ModuleName-1.02.tar.Z).
1290See perldoc ExtUtils::MakeMaker.pm for details.
1291
ac634a9a 1292=item *
1293
1294How to release and distribute a module.
2e1d04bc 1295
1296It's good idea to post an announcement of the availability of your
1297module (or the module itself if small) to the comp.lang.perl.announce
1298Usenet newsgroup. This will at least ensure very wide once-off
1299distribution.
1300
1301If possible, register the module with CPAN. You should
1302include details of its location in your announcement.
1303
1304Some notes about ftp archives: Please use a long descriptive file
1305name that includes the version number. Most incoming directories
1306will not be readable/listable, i.e., you won't be able to see your
1307file after uploading it. Remember to send your email notification
1308message as soon as possible after uploading else your file may get
1309deleted automatically. Allow time for the file to be processed
1310and/or check the file has been processed before announcing its
1311location.
1312
1313FTP Archives for Perl Modules:
1314
1315Follow the instructions and links on:
1316
4e860d0a 1317 http://www.cpan.org/modules/00modlist.long.html
1318 http://www.cpan.org/modules/04pause.html
2e1d04bc 1319
1320or upload to one of these sites:
1321
1322 https://pause.kbx.de/pause/
1323 http://pause.perl.org/pause/
1324
1325and notify <modules@perl.org>.
1326
1327By using the WWW interface you can ask the Upload Server to mirror
1328your modules from your ftp or WWW site into your own directory on
1329CPAN!
1330
1331Please remember to send me an updated entry for the Module list!
1332
ac634a9a 1333=item *
1334
1335Take care when changing a released module.
2e1d04bc 1336
1337Always strive to remain compatible with previous released versions.
1338Otherwise try to add a mechanism to revert to the
1339old behavior if people rely on it. Document incompatible changes.
1340
1341=back
1342
1343=back
1344
1345=head2 Guidelines for Converting Perl 4 Library Scripts into Modules
1346
1347=over 4
1348
ac634a9a 1349=item *
1350
1351There is no requirement to convert anything.
2e1d04bc 1352
1353If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Perl 4 library scripts should
1354continue to work with no problems. You may need to make some minor
1355changes (like escaping non-array @'s in double quoted strings) but
1356there is no need to convert a .pl file into a Module for just that.
1357
ac634a9a 1358=item *
1359
1360Consider the implications.
2e1d04bc 1361
1362All Perl applications that make use of the script will need to
1363be changed (slightly) if the script is converted into a module. Is
1364it worth it unless you plan to make other changes at the same time?
1365
ac634a9a 1366=item *
1367
1368Make the most of the opportunity.
2e1d04bc 1369
1370If you are going to convert the script to a module you can use the
1371opportunity to redesign the interface. The guidelines for module
1372creation above include many of the issues you should consider.
1373
ac634a9a 1374=item *
1375
1376The pl2pm utility will get you started.
2e1d04bc 1377
1378This utility will read *.pl files (given as parameters) and write
1379corresponding *.pm files. The pl2pm utilities does the following:
1380
1381=over 10
1382
1383=item *
ac634a9a 1384
2e1d04bc 1385Adds the standard Module prologue lines
1386
1387=item *
ac634a9a 1388
2e1d04bc 1389Converts package specifiers from ' to ::
1390
1391=item *
ac634a9a 1392
2e1d04bc 1393Converts die(...) to croak(...)
1394
1395=item *
ac634a9a 1396
2e1d04bc 1397Several other minor changes
1398
1399=back
1400
1401Being a mechanical process pl2pm is not bullet proof. The converted
1402code will need careful checking, especially any package statements.
1403Don't delete the original .pl file till the new .pm one works!
1404
1405=back
1406
1407=head2 Guidelines for Reusing Application Code
1408
1409=over 4
1410
ac634a9a 1411=item *
1412
1413Complete applications rarely belong in the Perl Module Library.
1414
1415=item *
2e1d04bc 1416
ac634a9a 1417Many applications contain some Perl code that could be reused.
2e1d04bc 1418
1419Help save the world! Share your code in a form that makes it easy
1420to reuse.
1421
ac634a9a 1422=item *
1423
1424Break-out the reusable code into one or more separate module files.
1425
1426=item *
1427
1428Take the opportunity to reconsider and redesign the interfaces.
2e1d04bc 1429
ac634a9a 1430=item *
2e1d04bc 1431
ac634a9a 1432In some cases the 'application' can then be reduced to a small
2e1d04bc 1433
1434fragment of code built on top of the reusable modules. In these cases
1435the application could invoked as:
1436
1437 % perl -e 'use Module::Name; method(@ARGV)' ...
1438or
1439 % perl -mModule::Name ... (in perl5.002 or higher)
1440
1441=back
1442
1443=head1 NOTE
1444
1445Perl does not enforce private and public parts of its modules as you may
1446have been used to in other languages like C++, Ada, or Modula-17. Perl
1447doesn't have an infatuation with enforced privacy. It would prefer
1448that you stayed out of its living room because you weren't invited, not
1449because it has a shotgun.
1450
1451The module and its user have a contract, part of which is common law,
1452and part of which is "written". Part of the common law contract is
1453that a module doesn't pollute any namespace it wasn't asked to. The
1454written contract for the module (A.K.A. documentation) may make other
1455provisions. But then you know when you C<use RedefineTheWorld> that
1456you're redefining the world and willing to take the consequences.
1457EOF
1458
1459close MANIFEST or warn "$0: failed to close MANIFEST (../MANIFEST): $!";
1460close OUT or warn "$0: failed to close OUT (perlmodlib.tmp): $!";
1461