3 Module::Build::API - API Reference for Module Authors
8 I list here some of the most important methods in C<Module::Build>.
9 Normally you won't need to deal with these methods unless you want to
10 subclass C<Module::Build>. But since one of the reasons I created
11 this module in the first place was so that subclassing is possible
12 (and easy), I will certainly write more docs as the interface
24 This method returns a reasonable facsimile of the currently-executing
25 C<Module::Build> object representing the current build. You can use
26 this object to query its L</notes()> method, inquire about installed
27 modules, and so on. This is a great way to share information between
28 different parts of your build process. For instance, you can ask
29 the user a question during C<perl Build.PL>, then use their answer
30 during a regression test:
33 my $color = $build->prompt("What is your favorite color?");
34 $build->notes(color => $color);
38 my $build = Module::Build->current;
39 my $color = $build->notes('color');
42 The way the C<current()> method is currently implemented, there may be
43 slight differences between the C<$build> object in Build.PL and the
44 one in C<t/colortest.t>. It is our goal to minimize these differences
45 in future releases of Module::Build, so please report any anomalies
48 One important caveat: in its current implementation, C<current()> will
49 B<NOT> work correctly if you have changed out of the directory that
50 C<Module::Build> was invoked from.
56 Creates a new Module::Build object. Arguments to the new() method are
57 listed below. Most arguments are optional, but you must provide
58 either the L</module_name> argument, or L</dist_name> and one of
59 L</dist_version> or L</dist_version_from>. In other words, you must
60 provide enough information to determine both a distribution name and
70 An array reference of files to be cleaned up when the C<clean> action
71 is performed. See also the L<add_to_cleanup()|/"add_to_cleanup(@files)">
78 This parameter supports the setting of features (see
79 L</feature($name)>) automatically based on a set of prerequisites. For
80 instance, for a module that could optionally use either MySQL or
81 PostgreSQL databases, you might use C<auto_features> like this:
83 my $build = Module::Build->new
85 ...other stuff here...
88 description => "Interface with Postgres databases",
89 requires => { 'DBD::Pg' => 23.3,
90 'DateTime::Format::Pg' => 0 },
93 description => "Interface with MySQL databases",
94 requires => { 'DBD::mysql' => 17.9,
95 'DateTime::Format::MySQL' => 0 },
100 For each feature named, the required prerequisites will be checked, and
101 if there are no failures, the feature will be enabled (set to C<1>).
102 Otherwise the failures will be displayed to the user and the feature
103 will be disabled (set to C<0>).
105 See the documentation for L</requires> for the details of how
106 requirements can be specified.
112 An optional C<autosplit> argument specifies a file which should be run
113 through the L<AutoSplit::autosplit()|AutoSplit/autosplit> function.
114 If multiple files should be split, the argument may be given as an
115 array of the files to split.
117 In general I don't consider autosplitting a great idea, because it's
118 not always clear that autosplitting achieves its intended performance
119 benefits. It may even harm performance in environments like mod_perl,
120 where as much as possible of a module's code should be loaded during
127 The Module::Build class or subclass to use in the build script.
128 Defaults to "Module::Build" or the class name passed to or created by
129 a call to L</subclass()>. This property is useful if you're
130 writing a custom Module::Build subclass and have a bootstrapping
131 problem--that is, your subclass requires modules that may not be
132 installed when C<perl Build.PL> is executed, but you've listed in
133 L</build_requires> so that they should be available when C<./Build> is
140 Modules listed in this section are necessary to build and install the
141 given module, but are not necessary for regular usage of it. This is
142 actually an important distinction - it allows for tighter control over
143 the body of installed modules, and facilitates correct dependency
144 checking on binary/packaged distributions of the module.
146 See the documentation for L<Module::Build::Authoring/"PREREQUISITES">
147 for the details of how requirements can be specified.
149 =item create_packlist
153 If true, this parameter tells Module::Build to create a F<.packlist>
154 file during the C<install> action, just like ExtUtils::MakeMaker does.
155 The file is created in a subdirectory of the C<arch> installation
156 location. It is used by some other tools (CPAN, CPANPLUS, etc.) for
157 determining what files are part of an install.
159 The default value is true. This parameter was introduced in
160 Module::Build version 0.2609; previously no packlists were ever
161 created by Module::Build.
167 An optional C<c_source> argument specifies a directory which contains
168 C source files that the rest of the build may depend on. Any C<.c>
169 files in the directory will be compiled to object files. The
170 directory will be added to the search path during the compilation and
171 linking phases of any C or XS files.
177 Modules listed in this section conflict in some serious way with the
178 given module. C<Module::Build> (or some higher-level tool) will
179 refuse to install the given module if the given module/version is also
182 See the documentation for L<Module::Build::Authoring/"PREREQUISITES">
183 for the details of how requirements can be specified.
185 =item create_makefile_pl
189 This parameter lets you use Module::Build::Compat during the
190 C<distdir> (or C<dist>) action to automatically create a Makefile.PL
191 for compatibility with ExtUtils::MakeMaker. The parameter's value
192 should be one of the styles named in the L<Module::Build::Compat>
199 This parameter tells Module::Build to automatically create a F<README>
200 file at the top level of your distribution. Currently it will simply
201 use C<Pod::Text> (or C<Pod::Readme> if it's installed) on the file
202 indicated by C<dist_version_from> and put the result in the F<README>
203 file. This is by no means the only recommended style for writing a
204 README, but it seems to be one common one used on the CPAN.
206 If you generate a F<README> in this way, it's probably a good idea to
207 create a separate F<INSTALL> file if that information isn't in the
214 This should be a short description of the distribution. This is used when
215 generating metadata for F<META.yml> and PPD files. If it is not given
216 then C<Module::Build> looks in the POD of the module from which it gets
217 the distribution's version. If it finds a POD section marked "=head1
218 NAME", then it looks for the first line matching C<\s+-\s+(.+)>,
219 and uses the captured text as the abstract.
225 This should be something like "John Doe <jdoe@example.com>", or if
226 there are multiple authors, an anonymous array of strings may be
227 specified. This is used when generating metadata for F<META.yml> and
228 PPD files. If this is not specified, then C<Module::Build> looks at
229 the module from which it gets the distribution's version. If it finds
230 a POD section marked "=head1 AUTHOR", then it uses the contents of
237 Specifies the name for this distribution. Most authors won't need to
238 set this directly, they can use C<module_name> to set C<dist_name> to
239 a reasonable default. However, some agglomerative distributions like
240 C<libwww-perl> or C<bioperl> have names that don't correspond directly
241 to a module name, so C<dist_name> can be set independently.
247 Specifies a version number for the distribution. See L</module_name>
248 or L</dist_version_from> for ways to have this set automatically from a
249 C<$VERSION> variable in a module. One way or another, a version
250 number needs to be set.
252 =item dist_version_from
256 Specifies a file to look for the distribution version in. Most
257 authors won't need to set this directly, they can use L</module_name>
258 to set it to a reasonable default.
260 The version is extracted from the specified file according to the same
261 rules as L<ExtUtils::MakeMaker> and C<CPAN.pm>. It involves finding
262 the first line that matches the regular expression
264 /([\$*])(([\w\:\']*)\bVERSION)\b.*\=/
266 eval()-ing that line, then checking the value of the C<$VERSION>
267 variable. Quite ugly, really, but all the modules on CPAN depend on
268 this process, so there's no real opportunity to change to something
271 If the target file of L</dist_version_from> contains more than one package
272 declaration, the version returned will be the one matching the configured
279 A boolean flag indicating whether the F<Build.PL> file must be
280 executed, or whether this module can be built, tested and installed
281 solely from consulting its metadata file. The main reason to set this
282 to a true value is that your module performs some dynamic
283 configuration as part of its build/install process. If the flag is
284 omitted, the F<META.yml> spec says that installation tools should
285 treat it as 1 (true), because this is a safer way to behave.
287 Currently C<Module::Build> doesn't actually do anything with this flag
288 - it's up to higher-level tools like C<CPAN.pm> to do something useful
289 with it. It can potentially bring lots of security, packaging, and
290 convenience improvements.
292 =item extra_compiler_flags
294 =item extra_linker_flags
298 These parameters can contain array references (or strings, in which
299 case they will be split into arrays) to pass through to the compiler
300 and linker phases when compiling/linking C code. For example, to tell
301 the compiler that your code is C++, you might do:
303 my $build = Module::Build->new
305 module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
306 extra_compiler_flags => ['-x', 'c++'],
309 To link your XS code against glib you might write something like:
311 my $build = Module::Build->new
313 module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
315 extra_compiler_flags => scalar `glib-config --cflags`,
316 extra_linker_flags => scalar `glib-config --libs`,
323 You can pass arbitrary command line options to F<Build.PL> or
324 F<Build>, and they will be stored in the Module::Build object and can
325 be accessed via the L</args()> method. However, sometimes you want
326 more flexibility out of your argument processing than this allows. In
327 such cases, use the C<get_options> parameter to pass in a hash
328 reference of argument specifications, and the list of arguments to
329 F<Build.PL> or F<Build> will be processed according to those
330 specifications before they're passed on to C<Module::Build>'s own
333 The supported option specification hash keys are:
340 The type of option. The types are those supported by Getopt::Long; consult
341 its documentation for a complete list. Typical types are C<=s> for strings,
342 C<+> for additive options, and C<!> for negatable options. If the
343 type is not specified, it will be considered a boolean, i.e. no
344 argument is taken and a value of 1 will be assigned when the option is
349 A reference to a scalar in which to store the value passed to the option.
350 If not specified, the value will be stored under the option name in the
351 hash returned by the C<args()> method.
355 A default value for the option. If no default value is specified and no option
356 is passed, then the option key will not exist in the hash returned by
362 You can combine references to your own variables or subroutines with
363 unreferenced specifications, for which the result will also be stored in the
364 hash returned by C<args()>. For example:
367 my $build = Module::Build->new
369 module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
371 loud => { store => \$loud },
372 dbd => { type => '=s' },
373 quantity => { type => '+' },
377 print STDERR "HEY, ARE YOU LISTENING??\n" if $loud;
378 print "We'll use the ", $build->args('dbd'), " DBI driver\n";
379 print "Are you sure you want that many?\n"
380 if $build->args('quantity') > 2;
382 The arguments for such a specification can be called like so:
384 perl Build.PL --loud --dbd=DBD::pg --quantity --quantity --quantity
386 B<WARNING:> Any option specifications that conflict with Module::Build's own
387 options (defined by its properties) will throw an exception.
389 Consult the Getopt::Long documentation for details on its usage.
395 Specifies any additional directories in which to search for C header
396 files. May be given as a string indicating a single directory, or as
397 a list reference indicating multiple directories.
403 You can set paths for individual installable elements by using the
404 C<install_path> parameter:
406 my $build = Module::Build->new
408 ...other stuff here...
411 arch => '/foo/lib/arch',
419 Determines where files are installed within the normal perl hierarchy
420 as determined by F<Config.pm>. Valid values are: C<core>, C<site>,
421 C<vendor>. The default is C<site>. See
422 L<Module::Build/"INSTALL PATHS">
428 Specifies the licensing terms of your distribution. Valid options include:
435 The distribution is licensed under the Apache Software License
436 (L<http://opensource.org/licenses/apachepl.php>).
440 The distribution is licensed under the Artistic License, as specified
441 by the F<Artistic> file in the standard Perl distribution.
445 The distribution is licensed under the Artistic 2.0 License
446 (L<http://opensource.org/licenses/artistic-license-2.0.php>.)
450 The distribution is licensed under the BSD License
451 (L<http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php>).
455 The distribution is licensed under the terms of the GNU General
456 Public License (L<http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php>).
460 The distribution is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser
461 General Public License
462 (L<http://www.opensource.org/licenses/lgpl-license.php>).
466 The distribution is licensed under the MIT License
467 (L<http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php>).
471 The distribution is licensed under the Mozilla Public
472 License. (L<http://opensource.org/licenses/mozilla1.0.php> or
473 L<http://opensource.org/licenses/mozilla1.1.php>)
477 The distribution is licensed under some other Open Source
478 Initiative-approved license listed at
479 L<http://www.opensource.org/licenses/>.
483 The distribution may be copied and redistributed under the same terms
484 as Perl itself (this is by far the most common licensing option for
485 modules on CPAN). This is a dual license, in which the user may
486 choose between either the GPL or the Artistic license.
490 The distribution may not be redistributed without special permission
491 from the author and/or copyright holder.
495 The distribution is licensed under a license that is B<not> approved
496 by www.opensource.org but that allows distribution without
502 Note that you must still include the terms of your license in your
503 documentation - this field only lets automated tools figure out your
504 licensing restrictions. Humans still need something to read. If you
505 choose to provide this field, you should make sure that you keep it in
506 sync with your written documentation if you ever change your licensing
509 You may also use a license type of C<unknown> if you don't wish to
510 specify your terms in the metadata.
512 It is a fatal error to use a license other than the ones mentioned
513 above. This is not because I wish to impose licensing terms on you -
514 please let me know if you would like another license option to be
515 added to the list. I just started out with a small set of licenses to
516 keep things simple, figuring I'd let people with actual working
517 knowledge in this area tell me what to do. So if that's you, drop me
524 A hash of key/value pairs that should be added to the F<META.yml> file
525 during the C<distmeta> action. Any existing entries with the same
526 names will be overridden.
528 See the L</"MODULE METADATA"> section for details.
534 A hash of key/value pairs that should be merged into the F<META.yml>
535 file during the C<distmeta> action. Any existing entries with the
536 same names will be overridden.
538 The only difference between C<meta_add> and C<meta_merge> is their
539 behavior on hash-valued and array-valued entries: C<meta_add> will
540 completely blow away the existing hash or array value, but
541 C<meta_merge> will merge the supplied data into the existing hash or
544 See the L</"MODULE METADATA"> section for details.
550 The C<module_name> is a shortcut for setting default values of
551 C<dist_name> and C<dist_version_from>, reflecting the fact that the
552 majority of CPAN distributions are centered around one "main" module.
553 For instance, if you set C<module_name> to C<Foo::Bar>, then
554 C<dist_name> will default to C<Foo-Bar> and C<dist_version_from> will
555 default to C<lib/Foo/Bar.pm>. C<dist_version_from> will in turn be
556 used to set C<dist_version>.
558 Setting C<module_name> won't override a C<dist_*> parameter you
565 An optional parameter specifying a set of C<.PL> files in your
566 distribution. These will be run as Perl scripts prior to processing
567 the rest of the files in your distribution. They are usually used as
568 templates for creating other files dynamically, so that a file like
569 C<lib/Foo/Bar.pm.PL> might create the file C<lib/Foo/Bar.pm>.
571 The files are specified with the C<.PL> files as hash keys, and the
572 file(s) they generate as hash values, like so:
574 my $build = Module::Build->new
576 module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
578 PL_files => { 'lib/Foo/Bar.pm.PL' => 'lib/Foo/Bar.pm' },
581 Note that the path specifications are I<always> given in Unix-like
582 format, not in the style of the local system.
584 If your C<.PL> scripts don't create any files, or if they create files
585 with unexpected names, or even if they create multiple files, you can
586 indicate that so that Module::Build can properly handle these created
590 'lib/Foo/Bar.pm.PL' => 'lib/Foo/Bar.pm',
591 'lib/something.PL' => ['/lib/something', '/lib/else'],
592 'lib/funny.PL' => [],
599 An optional parameter specifying the set of C<.pm> files in this
600 distribution, specified as a hash reference whose keys are the files'
601 locations in the distributions, and whose values are their logical
602 locations based on their package name, i.e. where they would be found
603 in a "normal" Module::Build-style distribution. This parameter is
604 mainly intended to support alternative layouts of files.
606 For instance, if you have an old-style MakeMaker distribution for a
607 module called C<Foo::Bar> and a F<Bar.pm> file at the top level of the
608 distribution, you could specify your layout in your C<Build.PL> like
611 my $build = Module::Build->new
613 module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
615 pm_files => { 'Bar.pm' => 'lib/Foo/Bar.pm' },
618 Note that the values should include C<lib/>, because this is where
619 they would be found in a "normal" Module::Build-style distribution.
621 Note also that the path specifications are I<always> given in
622 Unix-like format, not in the style of the local system.
628 Just like C<pm_files>, but used for specifying the set of C<.pod>
629 files in your distribution.
635 This is just like the L</requires> argument, except that modules listed
636 in this section aren't essential, just a good idea. We'll just print
637 a friendly warning if one of these modules aren't found, but we'll
640 If a module is recommended but not required, all tests should still
641 pass if the module isn't installed. This may mean that some tests
642 may be skipped if recommended dependencies aren't present.
644 Automated tools like CPAN.pm should inform the user when recommended
645 modules aren't installed, and it should offer to install them if it
648 See the documentation for L<Module::Build::Authoring/"PREREQUISITES">
649 for the details of how requirements can be specified.
651 =item recursive_test_files
655 Normally, C<Module::Build> does not search subdirectories when looking
656 for tests to run. When this options is set it will search recursively
657 in all subdirectories of the standard 't' test directory.
663 An optional C<requires> argument specifies any module prerequisites
664 that the current module depends on.
666 One note: currently C<Module::Build> doesn't actually I<require> the
667 user to have dependencies installed, it just strongly urges. In the
668 future we may require it. There's also a L</recommends> section for
669 things that aren't absolutely required.
671 Automated tools like CPAN.pm should refuse to install a module if one
672 of its dependencies isn't satisfied, unless a "force" command is given
673 by the user. If the tools are helpful, they should also offer to
674 install the dependencies.
676 A synonym for C<requires> is C<prereq>, to help succour people
677 transitioning from C<ExtUtils::MakeMaker>. The C<requires> term is
678 preferred, but the C<prereq> term will remain valid in future
681 See the documentation for L<Module::Build::Authoring/"PREREQUISITES">
682 for the details of how requirements can be specified.
688 An optional parameter specifying a set of files that should be
689 installed as executable Perl scripts when the module is installed.
690 May be given as an array reference of the files, as a hash reference
691 whose keys are the files (and whose values will currently be ignored),
692 as a string giving the name of a directory in which to find scripts,
693 or as a string giving the name of a single script file.
695 The default is to install any scripts found in a F<bin> directory at
696 the top level of the distribution.
698 For backward compatibility, you may use the parameter C<scripts>
699 instead of C<script_files>. Please consider this usage deprecated,
700 though it will continue to exist for several version releases.
706 If a true value is specified for this parameter, L<Module::Signature>
707 will be used (via the 'distsign' action) to create a SIGNATURE file
708 for your distribution during the 'distdir' action, and to add the
709 SIGNATURE file to the MANIFEST (therefore, don't add it yourself).
711 The default value is false. In the future, the default may change to
712 true if you have C<Module::Signature> installed on your system.
718 An optional parameter specifying a set of files that should be used as
719 C<Test::Harness>-style regression tests to be run during the C<test>
720 action. May be given as an array reference of the files, or as a hash
721 reference whose keys are the files (and whose values will currently be
722 ignored). If the argument is given as a single string (not in an
723 array reference), that string will be treated as a C<glob()> pattern
724 specifying the files to use.
726 The default is to look for a F<test.pl> script in the top-level
727 directory of the distribution, and any files matching the glob pattern
728 C<*.t> in the F<t/> subdirectory. If the C<recursive_test_files>
729 property is true, then the C<t/> directory will be scanned recursively
732 =item use_tap_harness
736 An optional parameter indicating whether or not to use TAP::Harness for
737 testing rather than Test::Harness. Defaults to false. If set to true, you must
738 therefore be sure to add TAP::Harness as a requirement for your module in
739 L</build_requires>. Implicitly set to a true value if C<tap_harness_args> is
742 =item tap_harness_args
746 An optional parameter specifying parameters to be passed to TAP::Harness when
747 running tests. Must be given as a hash reference of parameters; see the
748 L<TAP::Harness|TAP::Harness> documentation for details. Note that specifying
749 this parameter will implicitly set C<use_tap_harness> to a true value. You
750 must therefore be sure to add TAP::Harness as a requirement for your module in
757 Just like C<pm_files>, but used for specifying the set of C<.xs>
758 files in your distribution.
763 =item new_from_context(%args)
767 When called from a directory containing a F<Build.PL> script and a
768 F<META.yml> file (in other words, the base directory of a
769 distribution), this method will run the F<Build.PL> and return the
770 resulting C<Module::Build> object to the caller. Any key-value
771 arguments given to C<new_from_context()> are essentially like
772 command line arguments given to the F<Build.PL> script, so for example
773 you could pass C<< verbose => 1 >> to this method to turn on
780 You'll probably never call this method directly, it's only called from
781 the auto-generated C<Build> script. The C<new()> method is only
782 called once, when the user runs C<perl Build.PL>. Thereafter, when
783 the user runs C<Build test> or another action, the C<Module::Build>
784 object is created using the C<resume()> method to re-instantiate with
785 the settings given earlier to C<new()>.
791 This creates a new C<Module::Build> subclass on the fly, as described
792 in the L<Module::Build::Authoring/"SUBCLASSING"> section. The caller
793 must provide either a C<class> or C<code> parameter, or both. The
794 C<class> parameter indicates the name to use for the new subclass, and
795 defaults to C<MyModuleBuilder>. The C<code> parameter specifies Perl
796 code to use as the body of the subclass.
803 use base 'Module::Build';
804 __PACKAGE__->add_property( 'pedantic' );
805 __PACKAGE__->add_property( answer => 42 );
806 __PACKAGE__->add_property(
808 default => sub { time },
811 shift->property_error( "'$_' is not an epoch time" );
816 Adds a property to a Module::Build class. Properties are those attributes of a
817 Module::Build object which can be passed to the constructor and which have
818 accessors to get and set them. All of the core properties, such as
819 C<module_name> and C<license>, are defined using this class method.
821 The first argument to C<add_property()> is always the name of the property.
822 The second argument can be either a default value for the property, or a list
823 of key/value pairs. The supported keys are:
829 The default value. May optionally be specified as a code reference, in which
830 case the return value from the execution of the code reference will be used.
831 If you need the default to be a code reference, just use a code reference to
834 default => sub { sub { ... } },
838 A code reference that checks that a value specified for the property is valid.
839 During the execution of the code reference, the new value will be included in
840 the C<$_> variable. If the value is correct, the C<check> code reference
841 should return true. If the value is not correct, it sends an error message to
842 C<property_error()> and returns false.
846 When this method is called, a new property will be installed in the
847 Module::Build class, and an accessor will be built to allow the property to be
848 get or set on the build object.
850 print $build->pedantic, $/;
853 If the default value is a hash reference, this generetes a special-case
854 accessor method, wherein individual key/value pairs may be set or fetched:
856 print "stuff{foo} is: ", $build->stuff( 'foo' ), $/;
857 $build->stuff( foo => 'bar' );
858 print $build->stuff( 'foo' ), $/; # Outputs "bar"
860 Of course, you can still set the entire hash reference at once, as well:
862 $build->stuff( { foo => 'bar', baz => 'yo' } );
864 In either case, if a C<check> has been specified for the property, it will be
865 applied to the entire hash. So the check code reference should look something
869 return 1 if defined $_ && exists $_->{foo};
870 shift->property_error(qq{Property "stuff" needs "foo"});
885 =item add_build_element($type)
889 Adds a new type of entry to the build process. Accepts a single
890 string specifying its type-name. There must also be a method defined
891 to process things of that type, e.g. if you add a build element called
892 C<'foo'>, then you must also define a method called
893 C<process_foo_files()>.
896 L<Module::Build::Cookbook/"Adding new file types to the build process">.
898 =item add_to_cleanup(@files)
902 You may call C<< $self->add_to_cleanup(@patterns) >> to tell
903 C<Module::Build> that certain files should be removed when the user
904 performs the C<Build clean> action. The arguments to the method are
905 patterns suitable for passing to Perl's C<glob()> function, specified
906 in either Unix format or the current machine's native format. It's
907 usually convenient to use Unix format when you hard-code the filenames
908 (e.g. in F<Build.PL>) and the native format when the names are
909 programmatically generated (e.g. in a testing script).
911 I decided to provide a dynamic method of the C<$build> object, rather
912 than just use a static list of files named in the F<Build.PL>, because
913 these static lists can get difficult to manage. I usually prefer to
914 keep the responsibility for registering temporary files close to the
915 code that creates them.
921 my $args_href = $build->args;
922 my %args = $build->args;
923 my $arg_value = $build->args($key);
924 $build->args($key, $value);
926 This method is the preferred interface for retrieving the arguments passed via
927 command line options to F<Build.PL> or F<Build>, minus the Module-Build
930 When called in in a scalar context with no arguments, this method returns a
931 reference to the hash storing all of the arguments; in an array context, it
932 returns the hash itself. When passed a single argument, it returns the value
933 stored in the args hash for that option key. When called with two arguments,
934 the second argument is assigned to the args hash under the key passed as the
937 =item autosplit_file($from, $to)
941 Invokes the L<AutoSplit> module on the C<$from> file, sending the
942 output to the C<lib/auto> directory inside C<$to>. C<$to> is
943 typically the C<blib/> directory.
949 Returns a string containing the root-level directory of this build,
950 i.e. where the C<Build.PL> script and the C<lib> directory can be
951 found. This is usually the same as the current working directory,
952 because the C<Build> script will C<chdir()> into this directory as
953 soon as it begins execution.
955 =item build_requires()
959 Returns a hash reference indicating the C<build_requires>
960 prerequisites that were passed to the C<new()> method.
966 Returns the internal ExtUtils::CBuilder object that can be used for
967 compiling & linking C code. If no such object is available (e.g. if
968 the system has no compiler installed) an exception will be thrown.
970 =item check_installed_status($module, $version)
974 This method returns a hash reference indicating whether a version
975 dependency on a certain module is satisfied. The C<$module> argument
976 is given as a string like C<"Data::Dumper"> or C<"perl">, and the
977 C<$version> argument can take any of the forms described in L</requires>
978 above. This allows very fine-grained version checking.
980 The returned hash reference has the following structure:
983 ok => $whether_the_dependency_is_satisfied,
984 have => $version_already_installed,
985 need => $version_requested, # Same as incoming $version argument
986 message => $informative_error_message,
989 If no version of C<$module> is currently installed, the C<have> value
990 will be the string C<< "<none>" >>. Otherwise the C<have> value will
991 simply be the version of the installed module. Note that this means
992 that if C<$module> is installed but doesn't define a version number,
993 the C<have> value will be C<undef> - this is why we don't use C<undef>
994 for the case when C<$module> isn't installed at all.
996 This method may be called either as an object method
997 (C<< $build->check_installed_status($module, $version) >>)
999 (C<< Module::Build->check_installed_status($module, $version) >>).
1001 =item check_installed_version($module, $version)
1005 Like L<check_installed_status()|/"check_installed_status($module, $version)">,
1006 but simply returns true or false depending on whether module
1007 C<$module> satisfies the dependency C<$version>.
1009 If the check succeeds, the return value is the actual version of
1010 C<$module> installed on the system. This allows you to do the
1013 my $installed = $build->check_installed_version('DBI', '1.15');
1015 print "Congratulations, version $installed of DBI is installed.\n";
1017 die "Sorry, you must install DBI.\n";
1020 If the check fails, we return false and set C<$@> to an informative
1023 If C<$version> is any non-true value (notably zero) and any version of
1024 C<$module> is installed, we return true. In this case, if C<$module>
1025 doesn't define a version, or if its version is zero, we return the
1026 special value "0 but true", which is numerically zero, but logically
1029 In general you might prefer to use C<check_installed_status> if you
1030 need detailed information, or this method if you just need a yes/no
1033 =item compare_versions($v1, $op, $v2)
1037 Compares two module versions C<$v1> and C<$v2> using the operator
1038 C<$op>, which should be one of Perl's numeric operators like C<!=> or
1039 C<< >= >> or the like. We do at least a halfway-decent job of
1040 handling versions that aren't strictly numeric, like C<0.27_02>, but
1041 exotic stuff will likely cause problems.
1043 In the future, the guts of this method might be replaced with a call
1044 out to C<version.pm>.
1048 =item config($key, $value)
1050 =item config() [deprecated]
1054 With a single argument C<$key>, returns the value associated with that
1055 key in the C<Config.pm> hash, including any changes the author or user
1058 With C<$key> and C<$value> arguments, sets the value for future
1059 callers of C<config($key)>.
1061 With no arguments, returns a hash reference containing all such
1062 key-value pairs. This usage is deprecated, though, because it's a
1063 resource hog and violates encapsulation.
1065 =item config_data($name)
1067 =item config_data($name => $value)
1071 With a single argument, returns the value of the configuration
1072 variable C<$name>. With two arguments, sets the given configuration
1073 variable to the given value. The value may be any Perl scalar that's
1074 serializable with C<Data::Dumper>. For instance, if you write a
1075 module that can use a MySQL or PostgreSQL back-end, you might create
1076 configuration variables called C<mysql_connect> and
1077 C<postgres_connect>, and set each to an array of connection parameters
1078 for C<< DBI->connect() >>.
1080 Configuration values set in this way using the Module::Build object
1081 will be available for querying during the build/test process and after
1082 installation via the generated C<...::ConfigData> module, as
1083 C<< ...::ConfigData->config($name) >>.
1085 The L<feature()|/"feature($name)"> and C<config_data()> methods represent
1086 Module::Build's main support for configuration of installed modules.
1087 See also L<Module::Build::Authoring/"SAVING CONFIGURATION INFORMATION">.
1093 Returns a hash reference indicating the C<conflicts> prerequisites
1094 that were passed to the C<new()> method.
1096 =item contains_pod($file)
1100 [Deprecated] Please see L<Module::Build::ModuleInfo> instead.
1102 Returns true if the given file appears to contain POD documentation.
1103 Currently this checks whether the file has a line beginning with
1104 '=pod', '=head', or '=item', but the exact semantics may change in the
1107 =item copy_if_modified(%parameters)
1111 Takes the file in the C<from> parameter and copies it to the file in
1112 the C<to> parameter, or the directory in the C<to_dir> parameter, if
1113 the file has changed since it was last copied (or if it doesn't exist
1114 in the new location). By default the entire directory structure of
1115 C<from> will be copied into C<to_dir>; an optional C<flatten>
1116 parameter will copy into C<to_dir> without doing so.
1118 Returns the path to the destination file, or C<undef> if nothing
1119 needed to be copied.
1121 Any directories that need to be created in order to perform the
1122 copying will be automatically created.
1124 The destination file is set to read-only. If the source file has the
1125 executable bit set, then the destination file will be made executable.
1127 =item create_build_script()
1131 Creates an executable script called C<Build> in the current directory
1132 that will be used to execute further user actions. This script is
1133 roughly analogous (in function, not in form) to the Makefile created
1134 by C<ExtUtils::MakeMaker>. This method also creates some temporary
1135 data in a directory called C<_build/>. Both of these will be removed
1136 when the C<realclean> action is performed.
1138 Among the files created in C<_build/> is a F<_build/prereqs> file
1139 containing the set of prerequisites for this distribution, as a hash
1140 of hashes. This file may be C<eval()>-ed to obtain the authoritative
1141 set of prereqs, which might be different from the contents of
1142 F<META.yml> (because F<Build.PL> might have set them dynamically).
1143 But fancy developers take heed: do not put any fancy custom runtime
1144 code in the F<_build/prereqs> file, leave it as a static declaration
1145 containing only strings and numbers. Similarly, do not alter the
1146 structure of the internal C<< $self->{properties}{requires} >> (etc.)
1147 data members, because that's where this data comes from.
1149 =item current_action()
1153 Returns the name of the currently-running action, such as "build" or
1154 "test". This action is not necessarily the action that was originally
1155 invoked by the user. For example, if the user invoked the "test"
1156 action, current_action() would initially return "test". However,
1157 action "test" depends on action "code", so current_action() will
1158 return "code" while that dependency is being executed. Once that
1159 action has completed, current_action() will again return "test".
1161 If you need to know the name of the original action invoked by the
1162 user, see L</invoked_action()> below.
1164 =item depends_on(@actions)
1168 Invokes the named action or list of actions in sequence. Using this
1169 method is preferred to calling the action explicitly because it
1170 performs some internal record-keeping, and it ensures that the same
1171 action is not invoked multiple times (note: in future versions of
1172 Module::Build it's conceivable that this run-only-once mechanism will
1173 be changed to something more intelligent).
1175 Note that the name of this method is something of a misnomer; it
1176 should really be called something like
1177 C<invoke_actions_unless_already_invoked()> or something, but for
1178 better or worse (perhaps better!) we were still thinking in
1179 C<make>-like dependency terms when we created this method.
1181 See also L<dispatch()|/"dispatch($action, %args)">. The main
1182 distinction between the two is that C<depends_on()> is meant to call
1183 an action from inside another action, whereas C<dispatch()> is meant
1184 to set the very top action in motion.
1186 =item dir_contains($first_dir, $second_dir)
1190 Returns true if the first directory logically contains the second
1191 directory. This is just a convenience function because C<File::Spec>
1192 doesn't really provide an easy way to figure this out (but
1193 C<Path::Class> does...).
1195 =item dispatch($action, %args)
1199 Invokes the build action C<$action>. Optionally, a list of options
1200 and their values can be passed in. This is equivalent to invoking an
1201 action at the command line, passing in a list of options.
1203 Custom options that have not been registered must be passed in as a
1204 hash reference in a key named "args":
1206 $build->dispatch('foo', verbose => 1, args => { my_option => 'value' });
1208 This method is intended to be used to programmatically invoke build
1209 actions, e.g. by applications controlling Module::Build-based builds
1210 rather than by subclasses.
1212 See also L<depends_on()|/"depends_on(@actions)">. The main
1213 distinction between the two is that C<depends_on()> is meant to call
1214 an action from inside another action, whereas C<dispatch()> is meant
1215 to set the very top action in motion.
1221 Returns the name of the directory that will be created during the
1222 C<dist> action. The name is derived from the C<dist_name> and
1223 C<dist_version> properties.
1229 Returns the name of the current distribution, as passed to the
1230 C<new()> method in a C<dist_name> or modified C<module_name>
1233 =item dist_version()
1237 Returns the version of the current distribution, as determined by the
1238 C<new()> method from a C<dist_version>, C<dist_version_from>, or
1239 C<module_name> parameter.
1241 =item do_system($cmd, @args)
1245 This is a fairly simple wrapper around Perl's C<system()> built-in
1246 command. Given a command and an array of optional arguments, this
1247 method will print the command to C<STDOUT>, and then execute it using
1248 Perl's C<system()>. It returns true or false to indicate success or
1249 failure (the opposite of how C<system()> works, but more intuitive).
1251 Note that if you supply a single argument to C<do_system()>, it
1252 will/may be processed by the systems's shell, and any special
1253 characters will do their special things. If you supply multiple
1254 arguments, no shell will get involved and the command will be executed
1257 =item feature($name)
1259 =item feature($name => $value)
1263 With a single argument, returns true if the given feature is set.
1264 With two arguments, sets the given feature to the given boolean value.
1265 In this context, a "feature" is any optional functionality of an
1266 installed module. For instance, if you write a module that could
1267 optionally support a MySQL or PostgreSQL backend, you might create
1268 features called C<mysql_support> and C<postgres_support>, and set them
1269 to true/false depending on whether the user has the proper databases
1270 installed and configured.
1272 Features set in this way using the Module::Build object will be
1273 available for querying during the build/test process and after
1274 installation via the generated C<...::ConfigData> module, as
1275 C<< ...::ConfigData->feature($name) >>.
1277 The C<feature()> and C<config_data()> methods represent
1278 Module::Build's main support for configuration of installed modules.
1279 See also L<Module::Build::Authoring/"SAVING CONFIGURATION INFORMATION">.
1281 =item fix_shebang_line(@files)
1285 Modify any "shebang" line in the specified files to use the path to the
1286 perl executable being used for the current build. Files are modified
1287 in-place. The existing shebang line must have a command that contains
1288 "C<perl>"; arguments to the command do not count. In particular, this
1289 means that the use of C<#!/usr/bin/env perl> will not be changed.
1291 For an explanation of shebang lines, see
1292 L<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_%28Unix%29>.
1294 =item have_c_compiler()
1298 Returns true if the current system seems to have a working C compiler.
1299 We currently determine this by attempting to compile a simple C source
1300 file and reporting whether the attempt was successful.
1302 =item install_base_relpaths()
1304 =item install_base_relpaths($type)
1306 =item install_base_relpaths($type => $path)
1310 Set or retrieve the relative paths that are appended to
1311 C<install_base> for any installable element. This is useful if you
1312 want to set the relative install path for custom build elements.
1314 With no argument, it returns a reference to a hash containing all
1315 elements and their respective values. This hash should not be modified
1316 directly; use the multi-argument below form to change values.
1318 The single argument form returns the value associated with the
1321 The multi-argument form allows you to set the paths for element types.
1322 C<$value> must be a relative path using unix-like paths. (A series of
1323 directories seperated by slashes. Eg 'foo/bar'.) The return value is a
1324 localized path based on C<$value>.
1326 Assigning the value C<undef> to an element causes it to be removed.
1328 =item install_destination($type)
1332 Returns the directory in which items of type C<$type> (e.g. C<lib>,
1333 C<arch>, C<bin>, or anything else returned by the L</install_types()>
1334 method) will be installed during the C<install> action. Any settings
1335 for C<install_path>, C<install_base>, and C<prefix> are taken into
1336 account when determining the return value.
1338 =item install_path()
1340 =item install_path($type)
1342 =item install_path($type => $path)
1346 Set or retrieve paths for specific installable elements. This is
1347 useful when you want to examine any explicit install paths specified
1348 by the user on the command line, or if you want to set the install
1349 path for a specific installable element based on another attribute
1350 like C<install_base()>.
1352 With no argument, it returns a reference to a hash containing all
1353 elements and their respective values. This hash should not be modified
1354 directly; use the multi-argument below form to change values.
1356 The single argument form returns the value associated with the
1359 The multi-argument form allows you to set the paths for element types.
1360 The supplied C<$path> should be an absolute path to install elements
1361 of C<$type>. The return value is C<$path>.
1363 Assigning the value C<undef> to an element causes it to be removed.
1365 =item install_types()
1369 Returns a list of installable types that this build knows about.
1370 These types each correspond to the name of a directory in F<blib/>,
1371 and the list usually includes items such as C<lib>, C<arch>, C<bin>,
1372 C<script>, C<libdoc>, C<bindoc>, and if HTML documentation is to be
1373 built, C<libhtml> and C<binhtml>. Other user-defined types may also
1376 =item invoked_action()
1380 This is the name of the original action invoked by the user. This
1381 value is set when the user invokes F<Build.PL>, the F<Build> script,
1382 or programatically through the L<dispatch()|/"dispatch($action, %args)">
1383 method. It does not change as sub-actions are executed as
1384 dependencies are evaluated.
1386 To get the name of the currently executing dependency, see
1387 L</current_action()> above.
1393 =item notes($key => $value)
1397 The C<notes()> value allows you to store your own persistent
1398 information about the build, and to share that information among
1399 different entities involved in the build. See the example in the
1400 C<current()> method.
1402 The C<notes()> method is essentally a glorified hash access. With no
1403 arguments, C<notes()> returns the entire hash of notes. With one argument,
1404 C<notes($key)> returns the value associated with the given key. With two
1405 arguments, C<notes($key, $value)> sets the value associated with the given key
1406 to C<$value> and returns the new value.
1408 The lifetime of the C<notes> data is for "a build" - that is, the
1409 C<notes> hash is created when C<perl Build.PL> is run (or when the
1410 C<new()> method is run, if the Module::Build Perl API is being used
1411 instead of called from a shell), and lasts until C<perl Build.PL> is
1412 run again or the C<clean> action is run.
1418 Returns a string containing the working directory that was in effect
1419 before the F<Build> script chdir()-ed into the C<base_dir>. This
1420 might be useful for writing wrapper tools that might need to chdir()
1427 If you're subclassing Module::Build and some code needs to alter its
1428 behavior based on the current platform, you may only need to know
1429 whether you're running on Windows, Unix, MacOS, VMS, etc., and not the
1430 fine-grained value of Perl's C<$^O> variable. The C<os_type()> method
1431 will return a string like C<Windows>, C<Unix>, C<MacOS>, C<VMS>, or
1432 whatever is appropriate. If you're running on an unknown platform, it
1433 will return C<undef> - there shouldn't be many unknown platforms
1438 =item is_windowsish()
1442 Convenience functions that return a boolean value indicating whether
1443 this platform behaves respectively like VMS, Windows, or Unix. For
1444 arbitrary reasons other platforms don't get their own such functions,
1448 =item prefix_relpaths()
1450 =item prefix_relpaths($installdirs)
1452 =item prefix_relpaths($installdirs, $type)
1454 =item prefix_relpaths($installdirs, $type => $path)
1458 Set or retrieve the relative paths that are appended to C<prefix> for
1459 any installable element. This is useful if you want to set the
1460 relative install path for custom build elements.
1462 With no argument, it returns a reference to a hash containing all
1463 elements and their respective values as defined by the current
1464 C<installdirs> setting.
1466 With a single argument, it returns a reference to a hash containing
1467 all elements and their respective values as defined by
1470 The hash returned by the above calls should not be modified directly;
1471 use the three-argument below form to change values.
1473 The two argument form returns the value associated with the
1476 The multi-argument form allows you to set the paths for element types.
1477 C<$value> must be a relative path using unix-like paths. (A series of
1478 directories seperated by slashes. Eg 'foo/bar'.) The return value is a
1479 localized path based on C<$value>.
1481 Assigning the value C<undef> to an element causes it to be removed.
1483 =item prepare_metadata()
1487 This method is provided for authors to override to customize the
1488 fields of F<META.yml>. It is passed a YAML::Node node object which can
1489 be modified as desired and then returned. E.g.
1491 package My::Builder;
1492 use base 'Module::Build';
1494 sub prepare_metadata {
1496 my $node = $self->SUPER::prepare_metadata( shift );
1497 $node->{custom_field} = 'foo';
1501 =item prereq_failures()
1505 Returns a data structure containing information about any failed
1506 prerequisites (of any of the types described above), or C<undef> if
1507 all prerequisites are met.
1509 The data structure returned is a hash reference. The top level keys
1510 are the type of prerequisite failed, one of "requires",
1511 "build_requires", "conflicts", or "recommends". The associated values
1512 are hash references whose keys are the names of required (or
1513 conflicting) modules. The associated values of those are hash
1514 references indicating some information about the failure. For example:
1519 message => 'Version 0.42 is installed, but we need version 0.59',
1527 message => 'Prerequisite Foo isn't installed',
1530 This hash has the same structure as the hash returned by the
1531 C<check_installed_status()> method, except that in the case of
1532 "conflicts" dependencies we change the "need" key to "conflicts" and
1533 construct a proper message.
1537 # Check a required dependency on Foo::Bar
1538 if ( $build->prereq_failures->{requires}{Foo::Bar} ) { ...
1540 # Check whether there were any failures
1541 if ( $build->prereq_failures ) { ...
1543 # Show messages for all failures
1544 my $failures = $build->prereq_failures;
1545 while (my ($type, $list) = each %$failures) {
1546 while (my ($name, $hash) = each %$list) {
1547 print "Failure for $name: $hash->{message}\n";
1551 =item prereq_report()
1555 Returns a human-readable (table-form) string showing all
1556 prerequisites, the versions required, and the versions actually
1557 installed. This can be useful for reviewing the configuration of your
1558 system prior to a build, or when compiling data to send for a bug
1559 report. The C<prereq_report> action is just a thin wrapper around the
1560 C<prereq_report()> method.
1562 =item prompt($message, $default)
1566 Asks the user a question and returns their response as a string. The
1567 first argument specifies the message to display to the user (for
1568 example, C<"Where do you keep your money?">). The second argument,
1569 which is optional, specifies a default answer (for example,
1570 C<"wallet">). The user will be asked the question once.
1572 If C<prompt()> detects that it is not running interactively and there
1573 is nothing on STDIN or if the PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT environment variable
1574 is set to true, the $default will be used without prompting.
1576 To prevent automated processes from blocking, the user must either set
1577 PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT or attach something to STDIN (this can be a
1578 pipe/file containing a scripted set of answers or /dev/null.)
1580 If no $default is provided an empty string will be used instead. In
1581 non-interactive mode, the absence of $default is an error (though
1582 explicitly passing C<undef()> as the default is valid as of 0.27.)
1584 This method may be called as a class or object method.
1590 Returns a hash reference indicating the C<recommends> prerequisites
1591 that were passed to the C<new()> method.
1597 Returns a hash reference indicating the C<requires> prerequisites that
1598 were passed to the C<new()> method.
1600 =item rscan_dir($dir, $pattern)
1604 Uses C<File::Find> to traverse the directory C<$dir>, returning a
1605 reference to an array of entries matching C<$pattern>. C<$pattern>
1606 may either be a regular expression (using C<qr//> or just a plain
1607 string), or a reference to a subroutine that will return true for
1608 wanted entries. If C<$pattern> is not given, all entries will be
1613 # All the *.pm files in lib/
1614 $m->rscan_dir('lib', qr/\.pm$/)
1616 # All the files in blib/ that aren't *.html files
1617 $m->rscan_dir('blib', sub {-f $_ and not /\.html$/});
1619 # All the files in t/
1622 =item runtime_params()
1624 =item runtime_params($key)
1628 The C<runtime_params()> method stores the values passed on the command line
1629 for valid properties (that is, any command line options for which
1630 C<valid_property()> returns a true value). The value on the command line may
1631 override the default value for a property, as well as any value specified in a
1632 call to C<new()>. This allows you to programmatically tell if C<perl Build.PL>
1633 or any execution of C<./Build> had command line options specified that
1634 override valid properties.
1636 The C<runtime_params()> method is essentally a glorified read-only hash. With
1637 no arguments, C<runtime_params()> returns the entire hash of properties
1638 specified on the command line. With one argument, C<runtime_params($key)>
1639 returns the value associated with the given key.
1641 The lifetime of the C<runtime_params> data is for "a build" - that is, the
1642 C<runtime_params> hash is created when C<perl Build.PL> is run (or when the
1643 C<new()> method is called, if the Module::Build Perl API is being used instead
1644 of called from a shell), and lasts until C<perl Build.PL> is run again or the
1645 C<clean> action is run.
1647 =item script_files()
1651 Returns a hash reference whose keys are the perl script files to be
1652 installed, if any. This corresponds to the C<script_files> parameter to the
1653 C<new()> method. With an optional argument, this parameter may be set
1656 For backward compatibility, the C<scripts()> method does exactly the
1657 same thing as C<script_files()>. C<scripts()> is deprecated, but it
1658 will stay around for several versions to give people time to
1661 =item up_to_date($source_file, $derived_file)
1663 =item up_to_date(\@source_files, \@derived_files)
1667 This method can be used to compare a set of source files to a set of
1668 derived files. If any of the source files are newer than any of the
1669 derived files, it returns false. Additionally, if any of the derived
1670 files do not exist, it returns false. Otherwise it returns true.
1672 The arguments may be either a scalar or an array reference of file
1675 =item y_n($message, $default)
1679 Asks the user a yes/no question using C<prompt()> and returns true or
1680 false accordingly. The user will be asked the question repeatedly
1681 until they give an answer that looks like "yes" or "no".
1683 The first argument specifies the message to display to the user (for
1684 example, C<"Shall I invest your money for you?">), and the second
1685 argument specifies the default answer (for example, C<"y">).
1687 Note that the default is specified as a string like C<"y"> or C<"n">,
1688 and the return value is a Perl boolean value like 1 or 0. I thought
1689 about this for a while and this seemed like the most useful way to do
1692 This method may be called as a class or object method.
1697 =head2 Autogenerated Accessors
1699 In addition to the aforementioned methods, there are also some get/set
1700 accessor methods for the following properties:
1706 =item allow_mb_mismatch()
1720 =item build_elements()
1722 =item build_requires()
1724 =item build_script()
1730 =item configure_requires()
1734 =item create_license()
1736 =item create_makefile_pl()
1738 =item create_packlist()
1740 =item create_readme()
1750 =item include_dirs()
1752 =item install_base()
1754 =item install_sets()
1762 =item magic_number()
1776 =item original_prefix()
1788 =item prereq_action_types()
1790 =item program_name()
1796 =item recurse_into()
1798 =item recursive_test_files()
1806 =item tap_harness_args()
1808 =item test_file_exts()
1812 =item use_tap_harness()
1821 =head1 MODULE METADATA
1823 If you would like to add other useful metadata, C<Module::Build>
1824 supports this with the C<meta_add> and C<meta_merge> arguments to
1825 L</new>. The authoritative list of supported metadata can be found at
1826 L<http://module-build.sourceforge.net/META-spec-current.html>, but for
1827 convenience - here are a few of the more useful ones:
1833 For describing the distribution using keyword (or "tags") in order to
1834 make CPAN.org indexing and search more efficient and useful.
1836 See L<http://module-build.sourceforge.net/META-spec-current.html#keywords>.
1840 A list of additional resources available for users of the
1841 distribution. This can include links to a homepage on the web, a
1842 bugtracker, the repository location, a even subscription page for the
1843 distribution mailing list.
1845 See L<http://module-build.sourceforge.net/META-spec-current.html#resources>.
1852 Ken Williams <kwilliams@cpan.org>
1857 Copyright (c) 2001-2006 Ken Williams. All rights reserved.
1859 This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
1860 modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
1865 perl(1), L<Module::Build>(3), L<Module::Build::Authoring>(3),
1866 L<Module::Build::Cookbook>(3), L<ExtUtils::MakeMaker>(3), L<YAML>(3)
1868 F<META.yml> Specification:
1869 L<http://module-build.sourceforge.net/META-spec-current.html>