1 #############################################################################
2 # Pod/Parser.pm -- package which defines a base class for parsing POD docs.
4 # Copyright (C) 1996-2000 by Bradford Appleton. All rights reserved.
5 # This file is part of "PodParser". PodParser is free software;
6 # you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms
8 #############################################################################
12 use vars qw($VERSION);
13 $VERSION = 1.11; ## Current version of this package
14 require 5.004; ## requires this Perl version or later
16 #############################################################################
20 Pod::Parser - base class for creating POD filters and translators
27 @ISA = qw(Pod::Parser);
30 my ($parser, $command, $paragraph, $line_num) = @_;
31 ## Interpret the command and its text; sample actions might be:
32 if ($command eq 'head1') { ... }
33 elsif ($command eq 'head2') { ... }
34 ## ... other commands and their actions
35 my $out_fh = $parser->output_handle();
36 my $expansion = $parser->interpolate($paragraph, $line_num);
37 print $out_fh $expansion;
41 my ($parser, $paragraph, $line_num) = @_;
42 ## Format verbatim paragraph; sample actions might be:
43 my $out_fh = $parser->output_handle();
44 print $out_fh $paragraph;
48 my ($parser, $paragraph, $line_num) = @_;
49 ## Translate/Format this block of text; sample actions might be:
50 my $out_fh = $parser->output_handle();
51 my $expansion = $parser->interpolate($paragraph, $line_num);
52 print $out_fh $expansion;
55 sub interior_sequence {
56 my ($parser, $seq_command, $seq_argument) = @_;
57 ## Expand an interior sequence; sample actions might be:
58 return "*$seq_argument*" if ($seq_command eq 'B');
59 return "`$seq_argument'" if ($seq_command eq 'C');
60 return "_${seq_argument}_'" if ($seq_command eq 'I');
61 ## ... other sequence commands and their resulting text
66 ## Create a parser object and have it parse file whose name was
67 ## given on the command-line (use STDIN if no files were given).
68 $parser = new MyParser();
69 $parser->parse_from_filehandle(\*STDIN) if (@ARGV == 0);
70 for (@ARGV) { $parser->parse_from_file($_); }
74 perl5.004, Pod::InputObjects, Exporter, Carp
82 B<Pod::Parser> is a base class for creating POD filters and translators.
83 It handles most of the effort involved with parsing the POD sections
84 from an input stream, leaving subclasses free to be concerned only with
85 performing the actual translation of text.
87 B<Pod::Parser> parses PODs, and makes method calls to handle the various
88 components of the POD. Subclasses of B<Pod::Parser> override these methods
89 to translate the POD into whatever output format they desire.
93 To create a POD filter for translating POD documentation into some other
94 format, you create a subclass of B<Pod::Parser> which typically overrides
95 just the base class implementation for the following methods:
113 B<interior_sequence()>
117 You may also want to override the B<begin_input()> and B<end_input()>
118 methods for your subclass (to perform any needed per-file and/or
119 per-document initialization or cleanup).
121 If you need to perform any preprocesssing of input before it is parsed
122 you may want to override one or more of B<preprocess_line()> and/or
123 B<preprocess_paragraph()>.
125 Sometimes it may be necessary to make more than one pass over the input
126 files. If this is the case you have several options. You can make the
127 first pass using B<Pod::Parser> and override your methods to store the
128 intermediate results in memory somewhere for the B<end_pod()> method to
129 process. You could use B<Pod::Parser> for several passes with an
130 appropriate state variable to control the operation for each pass. If
131 your input source can't be reset to start at the beginning, you can
132 store it in some other structure as a string or an array and have that
133 structure implement a B<getline()> method (which is all that
134 B<parse_from_filehandle()> uses to read input).
136 Feel free to add any member data fields you need to keep track of things
137 like current font, indentation, horizontal or vertical position, or
138 whatever else you like. Be sure to read L<"PRIVATE METHODS AND DATA">
139 to avoid name collisions.
141 For the most part, the B<Pod::Parser> base class should be able to
142 do most of the input parsing for you and leave you free to worry about
143 how to intepret the commands and translate the result.
145 Note that all we have described here in this quick overview is the
146 simplest most straightforward use of B<Pod::Parser> to do stream-based
147 parsing. It is also possible to use the B<Pod::Parser::parse_text> function
148 to do more sophisticated tree-based parsing. See L<"TREE-BASED PARSING">.
150 =head1 PARSING OPTIONS
152 A I<parse-option> is simply a named option of B<Pod::Parser> with a
153 value that corresponds to a certain specified behavior. These various
154 behaviors of B<Pod::Parser> may be enabled/disabled by setting or
155 or unsetting one or more I<parse-options> using the B<parseopts()> method.
156 The set of currently accepted parse-options is as follows:
160 =item B<-want_nonPODs> (default: unset)
162 Normally (by default) B<Pod::Parser> will only provide access to
163 the POD sections of the input. Input paragraphs that are not part
164 of the POD-format documentation are not made available to the caller
165 (not even using B<preprocess_paragraph()>). Setting this option to a
166 non-empty, non-zero value will allow B<preprocess_paragraph()> to see
167 non-POD sections of the input as well as POD sections. The B<cutting()>
168 method can be used to determine if the corresponding paragraph is a POD
169 paragraph, or some other input paragraph.
171 =item B<-process_cut_cmd> (default: unset)
173 Normally (by default) B<Pod::Parser> handles the C<=cut> POD directive
174 by itself and does not pass it on to the caller for processing. Setting
175 this option to a non-empty, non-zero value will cause B<Pod::Parser> to
176 pass the C<=cut> directive to the caller just like any other POD command
177 (and hence it may be processed by the B<command()> method).
179 B<Pod::Parser> will still interpret the C<=cut> directive to mean that
180 "cutting mode" has been (re)entered, but the caller will get a chance
181 to capture the actual C<=cut> paragraph itself for whatever purpose
184 =item B<-warnings> (default: unset)
186 Normally (by default) B<Pod::Parser> recognizes a bare minimum of
187 pod syntax errors and warnings and issues diagnostic messages
188 for errors, but not for warnings. (Use B<Pod::Checker> to do more
189 thorough checking of POD syntax.) Setting this option to a non-empty,
190 non-zero value will cause B<Pod::Parser> to issue diagnostics for
191 the few warnings it recognizes as well as the errors.
195 Please see L<"parseopts()"> for a complete description of the interface
196 for the setting and unsetting of parse-options.
200 #############################################################################
205 use Pod::InputObjects;
208 require VMS::Filespec if $^O eq 'VMS';
211 ## These "variables" are used as local "glob aliases" for performance
212 use vars qw(%myData %myOpts @input_stack);
214 #############################################################################
216 =head1 RECOMMENDED SUBROUTINE/METHOD OVERRIDES
218 B<Pod::Parser> provides several methods which most subclasses will probably
219 want to override. These methods are as follows:
223 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
227 $parser->command($cmd,$text,$line_num,$pod_para);
229 This method should be overridden by subclasses to take the appropriate
230 action when a POD command paragraph (denoted by a line beginning with
231 "=") is encountered. When such a POD directive is seen in the input,
232 this method is called and is passed:
238 the name of the command for this POD paragraph
242 the paragraph text for the given POD paragraph command.
246 the line-number of the beginning of the paragraph
250 a reference to a C<Pod::Paragraph> object which contains further
251 information about the paragraph command (see L<Pod::InputObjects>
256 B<Note> that this method I<is> called for C<=pod> paragraphs.
258 The base class implementation of this method simply treats the raw POD
259 command as normal block of paragraph text (invoking the B<textblock()>
260 method with the command paragraph).
265 my ($self, $cmd, $text, $line_num, $pod_para) = @_;
266 ## Just treat this like a textblock
267 $self->textblock($pod_para->raw_text(), $line_num, $pod_para);
270 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
274 $parser->verbatim($text,$line_num,$pod_para);
276 This method may be overridden by subclasses to take the appropriate
277 action when a block of verbatim text is encountered. It is passed the
278 following parameters:
284 the block of text for the verbatim paragraph
288 the line-number of the beginning of the paragraph
292 a reference to a C<Pod::Paragraph> object which contains further
293 information about the paragraph (see L<Pod::InputObjects>
298 The base class implementation of this method simply prints the textblock
299 (unmodified) to the output filehandle.
304 my ($self, $text, $line_num, $pod_para) = @_;
305 my $out_fh = $self->{_OUTPUT};
309 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
311 =head1 B<textblock()>
313 $parser->textblock($text,$line_num,$pod_para);
315 This method may be overridden by subclasses to take the appropriate
316 action when a normal block of POD text is encountered (although the base
317 class method will usually do what you want). It is passed the following
324 the block of text for the a POD paragraph
328 the line-number of the beginning of the paragraph
332 a reference to a C<Pod::Paragraph> object which contains further
333 information about the paragraph (see L<Pod::InputObjects>
338 In order to process interior sequences, subclasses implementations of
339 this method will probably want to invoke either B<interpolate()> or
340 B<parse_text()>, passing it the text block C<$text>, and the corresponding
341 line number in C<$line_num>, and then perform any desired processing upon
344 The base class implementation of this method simply prints the text block
345 as it occurred in the input stream).
350 my ($self, $text, $line_num, $pod_para) = @_;
351 my $out_fh = $self->{_OUTPUT};
352 print $out_fh $self->interpolate($text, $line_num);
355 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
357 =head1 B<interior_sequence()>
359 $parser->interior_sequence($seq_cmd,$seq_arg,$pod_seq);
361 This method should be overridden by subclasses to take the appropriate
362 action when an interior sequence is encountered. An interior sequence is
363 an embedded command within a block of text which appears as a command
364 name (usually a single uppercase character) followed immediately by a
365 string of text which is enclosed in angle brackets. This method is
366 passed the sequence command C<$seq_cmd> and the corresponding text
367 C<$seq_arg>. It is invoked by the B<interpolate()> method for each interior
368 sequence that occurs in the string that it is passed. It should return
369 the desired text string to be used in place of the interior sequence.
370 The C<$pod_seq> argument is a reference to a C<Pod::InteriorSequence>
371 object which contains further information about the interior sequence.
372 Please see L<Pod::InputObjects> for details if you need to access this
373 additional information.
375 Subclass implementations of this method may wish to invoke the
376 B<nested()> method of C<$pod_seq> to see if it is nested inside
377 some other interior-sequence (and if so, which kind).
379 The base class implementation of the B<interior_sequence()> method
380 simply returns the raw text of the interior sequence (as it occurred
381 in the input) to the caller.
385 sub interior_sequence {
386 my ($self, $seq_cmd, $seq_arg, $pod_seq) = @_;
387 ## Just return the raw text of the interior sequence
388 return $pod_seq->raw_text();
391 #############################################################################
393 =head1 OPTIONAL SUBROUTINE/METHOD OVERRIDES
395 B<Pod::Parser> provides several methods which subclasses may want to override
396 to perform any special pre/post-processing. These methods do I<not> have to
397 be overridden, but it may be useful for subclasses to take advantage of them.
401 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
405 my $parser = Pod::Parser->new();
407 This is the constructor for B<Pod::Parser> and its subclasses. You
408 I<do not> need to override this method! It is capable of constructing
409 subclass objects as well as base class objects, provided you use
410 any of the following constructor invocation styles:
412 my $parser1 = MyParser->new();
413 my $parser2 = new MyParser();
414 my $parser3 = $parser2->new();
416 where C<MyParser> is some subclass of B<Pod::Parser>.
418 Using the syntax C<MyParser::new()> to invoke the constructor is I<not>
419 recommended, but if you insist on being able to do this, then the
420 subclass I<will> need to override the B<new()> constructor method. If
421 you do override the constructor, you I<must> be sure to invoke the
422 B<initialize()> method of the newly blessed object.
424 Using any of the above invocations, the first argument to the
425 constructor is always the corresponding package name (or object
426 reference). No other arguments are required, but if desired, an
427 associative array (or hash-table) my be passed to the B<new()>
430 my $parser1 = MyParser->new( MYDATA => $value1, MOREDATA => $value2 );
431 my $parser2 = new MyParser( -myflag => 1 );
433 All arguments passed to the B<new()> constructor will be treated as
434 key/value pairs in a hash-table. The newly constructed object will be
435 initialized by copying the contents of the given hash-table (which may
436 have been empty). The B<new()> constructor for this class and all of its
437 subclasses returns a blessed reference to the initialized object (hash-table).
442 ## Determine if we were called via an object-ref or a classname
444 my $class = ref($this) || $this;
445 ## Any remaining arguments are treated as initial values for the
446 ## hash that is used to represent this object.
448 my $self = { %params };
449 ## Bless ourselves into the desired class and perform any initialization
455 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
457 =head1 B<initialize()>
459 $parser->initialize();
461 This method performs any necessary object initialization. It takes no
462 arguments (other than the object instance of course, which is typically
463 copied to a local variable named C<$self>). If subclasses override this
464 method then they I<must> be sure to invoke C<$self-E<gt>SUPER::initialize()>.
473 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
475 =head1 B<begin_pod()>
477 $parser->begin_pod();
479 This method is invoked at the beginning of processing for each POD
480 document that is encountered in the input. Subclasses should override
481 this method to perform any per-document initialization.
490 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
492 =head1 B<begin_input()>
494 $parser->begin_input();
496 This method is invoked by B<parse_from_filehandle()> immediately I<before>
497 processing input from a filehandle. The base class implementation does
498 nothing, however, subclasses may override it to perform any per-file
501 Note that if multiple files are parsed for a single POD document
502 (perhaps the result of some future C<=include> directive) this method
503 is invoked for every file that is parsed. If you wish to perform certain
504 initializations once per document, then you should use B<begin_pod()>.
513 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
515 =head1 B<end_input()>
517 $parser->end_input();
519 This method is invoked by B<parse_from_filehandle()> immediately I<after>
520 processing input from a filehandle. The base class implementation does
521 nothing, however, subclasses may override it to perform any per-file
524 Please note that if multiple files are parsed for a single POD document
525 (perhaps the result of some kind of C<=include> directive) this method
526 is invoked for every file that is parsed. If you wish to perform certain
527 cleanup actions once per document, then you should use B<end_pod()>.
536 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
542 This method is invoked at the end of processing for each POD document
543 that is encountered in the input. Subclasses should override this method
544 to perform any per-document finalization.
553 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
555 =head1 B<preprocess_line()>
557 $textline = $parser->preprocess_line($text, $line_num);
559 This method should be overridden by subclasses that wish to perform
560 any kind of preprocessing for each I<line> of input (I<before> it has
561 been determined whether or not it is part of a POD paragraph). The
562 parameter C<$text> is the input line; and the parameter C<$line_num> is
563 the line number of the corresponding text line.
565 The value returned should correspond to the new text to use in its
566 place. If the empty string or an undefined value is returned then no
567 further processing will be performed for this line.
569 Please note that the B<preprocess_line()> method is invoked I<before>
570 the B<preprocess_paragraph()> method. After all (possibly preprocessed)
571 lines in a paragraph have been assembled together and it has been
572 determined that the paragraph is part of the POD documentation from one
573 of the selected sections, then B<preprocess_paragraph()> is invoked.
575 The base class implementation of this method returns the given text.
579 sub preprocess_line {
580 my ($self, $text, $line_num) = @_;
584 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
586 =head1 B<preprocess_paragraph()>
588 $textblock = $parser->preprocess_paragraph($text, $line_num);
590 This method should be overridden by subclasses that wish to perform any
591 kind of preprocessing for each block (paragraph) of POD documentation
592 that appears in the input stream. The parameter C<$text> is the POD
593 paragraph from the input file; and the parameter C<$line_num> is the
594 line number for the beginning of the corresponding paragraph.
596 The value returned should correspond to the new text to use in its
597 place If the empty string is returned or an undefined value is
598 returned, then the given C<$text> is ignored (not processed).
600 This method is invoked after gathering up all the lines in a paragraph
601 and after determining the cutting state of the paragraph,
602 but before trying to further parse or interpret them. After
603 B<preprocess_paragraph()> returns, the current cutting state (which
604 is returned by C<$self-E<gt>cutting()>) is examined. If it evaluates
605 to true then input text (including the given C<$text>) is cut (not
606 processed) until the next POD directive is encountered.
608 Please note that the B<preprocess_line()> method is invoked I<before>
609 the B<preprocess_paragraph()> method. After all (possibly preprocessed)
610 lines in a paragraph have been assembled together and either it has been
611 determined that the paragraph is part of the POD documentation from one
612 of the selected sections or the C<-want_nonPODs> option is true,
613 then B<preprocess_paragraph()> is invoked.
615 The base class implementation of this method returns the given text.
619 sub preprocess_paragraph {
620 my ($self, $text, $line_num) = @_;
624 #############################################################################
626 =head1 METHODS FOR PARSING AND PROCESSING
628 B<Pod::Parser> provides several methods to process input text. These
629 methods typically won't need to be overridden (and in some cases they
630 can't be overridden), but subclasses may want to invoke them to exploit
635 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
637 =head1 B<parse_text()>
639 $ptree1 = $parser->parse_text($text, $line_num);
640 $ptree2 = $parser->parse_text({%opts}, $text, $line_num);
641 $ptree3 = $parser->parse_text(\%opts, $text, $line_num);
643 This method is useful if you need to perform your own interpolation
644 of interior sequences and can't rely upon B<interpolate> to expand
645 them in simple bottom-up order order.
647 The parameter C<$text> is a string or block of text to be parsed
648 for interior sequences; and the parameter C<$line_num> is the
649 line number curresponding to the beginning of C<$text>.
651 B<parse_text()> will parse the given text into a parse-tree of "nodes."
652 and interior-sequences. Each "node" in the parse tree is either a
653 text-string, or a B<Pod::InteriorSequence>. The result returned is a
654 parse-tree of type B<Pod::ParseTree>. Please see L<Pod::InputObjects>
655 for more information about B<Pod::InteriorSequence> and B<Pod::ParseTree>.
657 If desired, an optional hash-ref may be specified as the first argument
658 to customize certain aspects of the parse-tree that is created and
659 returned. The set of recognized option keywords are:
663 =item B<-expand_seq> =E<gt> I<code-ref>|I<method-name>
665 Normally, the parse-tree returned by B<parse_text()> will contain an
666 unexpanded C<Pod::InteriorSequence> object for each interior-sequence
667 encountered. Specifying B<-expand_seq> tells B<parse_text()> to "expand"
668 every interior-sequence it sees by invoking the referenced function
669 (or named method of the parser object) and using the return value as the
672 If a subroutine reference was given, it is invoked as:
674 &$code_ref( $parser, $sequence )
676 and if a method-name was given, it is invoked as:
678 $parser->method_name( $sequence )
680 where C<$parser> is a reference to the parser object, and C<$sequence>
681 is a reference to the interior-sequence object.
682 [I<NOTE>: If the B<interior_sequence()> method is specified, then it is
683 invoked according to the interface specified in L<"interior_sequence()">].
685 =item B<-expand_text> =E<gt> I<code-ref>|I<method-name>
687 Normally, the parse-tree returned by B<parse_text()> will contain a
688 text-string for each contiguous sequence of characters outside of an
689 interior-sequence. Specifying B<-expand_text> tells B<parse_text()> to
690 "preprocess" every such text-string it sees by invoking the referenced
691 function (or named method of the parser object) and using the return value
692 as the preprocessed (or "expanded") result. [Note that if the result is
693 an interior-sequence, then it will I<not> be expanded as specified by the
694 B<-expand_seq> option; Any such recursive expansion needs to be handled by
695 the specified callback routine.]
697 If a subroutine reference was given, it is invoked as:
699 &$code_ref( $parser, $text, $ptree_node )
701 and if a method-name was given, it is invoked as:
703 $parser->method_name( $text, $ptree_node )
705 where C<$parser> is a reference to the parser object, C<$text> is the
706 text-string encountered, and C<$ptree_node> is a reference to the current
707 node in the parse-tree (usually an interior-sequence object or else the
708 top-level node of the parse-tree).
710 =item B<-expand_ptree> =E<gt> I<code-ref>|I<method-name>
712 Rather than returning a C<Pod::ParseTree>, pass the parse-tree as an
713 argument to the referenced subroutine (or named method of the parser
714 object) and return the result instead of the parse-tree object.
716 If a subroutine reference was given, it is invoked as:
718 &$code_ref( $parser, $ptree )
720 and if a method-name was given, it is invoked as:
722 $parser->method_name( $ptree )
724 where C<$parser> is a reference to the parser object, and C<$ptree>
725 is a reference to the parse-tree object.
735 ## Get options and set any defaults
736 my %opts = (ref $_[0]) ? %{ shift() } : ();
737 my $expand_seq = $opts{'-expand_seq'} || undef;
738 my $expand_text = $opts{'-expand_text'} || undef;
739 my $expand_ptree = $opts{'-expand_ptree'} || undef;
743 my $file = $self->input_file();
746 ## Convert method calls into closures, for our convenience
747 my $xseq_sub = $expand_seq;
748 my $xtext_sub = $expand_text;
749 my $xptree_sub = $expand_ptree;
750 if (defined $expand_seq and $expand_seq eq 'interior_sequence') {
751 ## If 'interior_sequence' is the method to use, we have to pass
752 ## more than just the sequence object, we also need to pass the
753 ## sequence name and text.
755 my ($self, $iseq) = @_;
756 my $args = join("", $iseq->parse_tree->children);
757 return $self->interior_sequence($iseq->name, $args, $iseq);
760 ref $xseq_sub or $xseq_sub = sub { shift()->$expand_seq(@_) };
761 ref $xtext_sub or $xtext_sub = sub { shift()->$expand_text(@_) };
762 ref $xptree_sub or $xptree_sub = sub { shift()->$expand_ptree(@_) };
764 ## Keep track of the "current" interior sequence, and maintain a stack
765 ## of "in progress" sequences.
767 ## NOTE that we push our own "accumulator" at the very beginning of the
768 ## stack. It's really a parse-tree, not a sequence; but it implements
769 ## the methods we need so we can use it to gather-up all the sequences
770 ## and strings we parse. Thus, by the end of our parsing, it should be
771 ## the only thing left on our stack and all we have to do is return it!
773 my $seq = Pod::ParseTree->new();
774 my @seq_stack = ($seq);
775 my ($ldelim, $rdelim) = ('', '');
777 ## Iterate over all sequence starts text (NOTE: split with
778 ## capturing parens keeps the delimiters)
780 my @tokens = split /([A-Z]<(?:<+\s+)?)/;
783 ## Look for the beginning of a sequence
784 if ( /^([A-Z])(<(?:<+\s+)?)$/ ) {
785 ## Push a new sequence onto the stack of those "in-progress"
786 ($cmd, $ldelim) = ($1, $2);
787 $seq = Pod::InteriorSequence->new(
789 -ldelim => $ldelim, -rdelim => '',
790 -file => $file, -line => $line
792 $ldelim =~ s/\s+$//, ($rdelim = $ldelim) =~ tr/</>/;
793 (@seq_stack > 1) and $seq->nested($seq_stack[-1]);
794 push @seq_stack, $seq;
796 ## Look for sequence ending
797 elsif ( @seq_stack > 1 ) {
798 ## Make sure we match the right kind of closing delimiter
799 my ($seq_end, $post_seq) = ("", "");
800 if ( ($ldelim eq '<' and /\A(.*?)(>)/s)
801 or /\A(.*?)(\s+$rdelim)/s )
803 ## Found end-of-sequence, capture the interior and the
804 ## closing the delimiter, and put the rest back on the
806 $post_seq = substr($_, length($1) + length($2));
807 ($_, $seq_end) = ($1, $2);
808 (length $post_seq) and unshift @tokens, $post_seq;
811 ## In the middle of a sequence, append this text to it, and
812 ## dont forget to "expand" it if that's what the caller wanted
813 $seq->append($expand_text ? &$xtext_sub($self,$_,$seq) : $_);
816 if (length $seq_end) {
817 ## End of current sequence, record terminating delimiter
818 $seq->rdelim($seq_end);
819 ## Pop it off the stack of "in progress" sequences
821 ## Append result to its parent in current parse tree
822 $seq_stack[-1]->append($expand_seq ? &$xseq_sub($self,$seq)
824 ## Remember the current cmd-name and left-delimiter
825 $cmd = (@seq_stack > 1) ? $seq_stack[-1]->name : '';
826 $ldelim = (@seq_stack > 1) ? $seq_stack[-1]->ldelim : '';
827 $ldelim =~ s/\s+$//, ($rdelim = $ldelim) =~ tr/</>/;
831 ## In the middle of a sequence, append this text to it, and
832 ## dont forget to "expand" it if that's what the caller wanted
833 $seq->append($expand_text ? &$xtext_sub($self,$_,$seq) : $_);
835 ## Keep track of line count
837 ## Remember the "current" sequence
838 $seq = $seq_stack[-1];
841 ## Handle unterminated sequences
842 my $errorsub = (@seq_stack > 1) ? $self->errorsub() : undef;
843 while (@seq_stack > 1) {
844 ($cmd, $file, $line) = ($seq->name, $seq->file_line);
845 $file = VMS::Filespec::unixify($file) if $^O eq 'VMS';
846 $ldelim = $seq->ldelim;
847 ($rdelim = $ldelim) =~ tr/</>/;
848 $rdelim =~ s/^(\S+)(\s*)$/$2$1/;
850 my $errmsg = "*** ERROR: unterminated ${cmd}${ldelim}...${rdelim}".
851 " at line $line in file $file\n";
852 (ref $errorsub) and &{$errorsub}($errmsg)
853 or (defined $errorsub) and $self->$errorsub($errmsg)
855 $seq_stack[-1]->append($expand_seq ? &$xseq_sub($self,$seq) : $seq);
856 $seq = $seq_stack[-1];
859 ## Return the resulting parse-tree
860 my $ptree = (pop @seq_stack)->parse_tree;
861 return $expand_ptree ? &$xptree_sub($self, $ptree) : $ptree;
864 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
866 =head1 B<interpolate()>
868 $textblock = $parser->interpolate($text, $line_num);
870 This method translates all text (including any embedded interior sequences)
871 in the given text string C<$text> and returns the interpolated result. The
872 parameter C<$line_num> is the line number corresponding to the beginning
875 B<interpolate()> merely invokes a private method to recursively expand
876 nested interior sequences in bottom-up order (innermost sequences are
877 expanded first). If there is a need to expand nested sequences in
878 some alternate order, use B<parse_text> instead.
883 my($self, $text, $line_num) = @_;
884 my %parse_opts = ( -expand_seq => 'interior_sequence' );
885 my $ptree = $self->parse_text( \%parse_opts, $text, $line_num );
886 return join "", $ptree->children();
889 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
893 =head1 B<parse_paragraph()>
895 $parser->parse_paragraph($text, $line_num);
897 This method takes the text of a POD paragraph to be processed, along
898 with its corresponding line number, and invokes the appropriate method
899 (one of B<command()>, B<verbatim()>, or B<textblock()>).
901 For performance reasons, this method is invoked directly without any
902 dynamic lookup; Hence subclasses may I<not> override it!
908 sub parse_paragraph {
909 my ($self, $text, $line_num) = @_;
910 local *myData = $self; ## alias to avoid deref-ing overhead
911 local *myOpts = ($myData{_PARSEOPTS} ||= {}); ## get parse-options
914 ## See if we want to preprocess nonPOD paragraphs as well as POD ones.
915 my $wantNonPods = $myOpts{'-want_nonPODs'};
917 ## Update cutting status
918 $myData{_CUTTING} = 0 if $text =~ /^={1,2}\S/;
920 ## Perform any desired preprocessing if we wanted it this early
921 $wantNonPods and $text = $self->preprocess_paragraph($text, $line_num);
923 ## Ignore up until next POD directive if we are cutting
924 return if $myData{_CUTTING};
926 ## Now we know this is block of text in a POD section!
928 ##-----------------------------------------------------------------
929 ## This is a hook (hack ;-) for Pod::Select to do its thing without
930 ## having to override methods, but also without Pod::Parser assuming
931 ## $self is an instance of Pod::Select (if the _SELECTED_SECTIONS
932 ## field exists then we assume there is an is_selected() method for
933 ## us to invoke (calling $self->can('is_selected') could verify this
934 ## but that is more overhead than I want to incur)
935 ##-----------------------------------------------------------------
937 ## Ignore this block if it isnt in one of the selected sections
938 if (exists $myData{_SELECTED_SECTIONS}) {
939 $self->is_selected($text) or return ($myData{_CUTTING} = 1);
942 ## If we havent already, perform any desired preprocessing and
943 ## then re-check the "cutting" state
944 unless ($wantNonPods) {
945 $text = $self->preprocess_paragraph($text, $line_num);
946 return 1 unless ((defined $text) and (length $text));
947 return 1 if ($myData{_CUTTING});
950 ## Look for one of the three types of paragraphs
951 my ($pfx, $cmd, $arg, $sep) = ('', '', '', '');
952 my $pod_para = undef;
953 if ($text =~ /^(={1,2})(?=\S)/) {
954 ## Looks like a command paragraph. Capture the command prefix used
955 ## ("=" or "=="), as well as the command-name, its paragraph text,
956 ## and whatever sequence of characters was used to separate them
958 $_ = substr($text, length $pfx);
959 ($cmd, $sep, $text) = split /(\s+)/, $_, 2;
960 ## If this is a "cut" directive then we dont need to do anything
961 ## except return to "cutting" mode.
963 $myData{_CUTTING} = 1;
964 return unless $myOpts{'-process_cut_cmd'};
967 ## Save the attributes indicating how the command was specified.
968 $pod_para = new Pod::Paragraph(
973 -file => $myData{_INFILE},
976 # ## Invoke appropriate callbacks
977 # if (exists $myData{_CALLBACKS}) {
978 # ## Look through the callback list, invoke callbacks,
979 # ## then see if we need to do the default actions
980 # ## (invoke_callbacks will return true if we do).
981 # return 1 unless $self->invoke_callbacks($cmd, $text, $line_num, $pod_para);
984 ## A command paragraph
985 $self->command($cmd, $text, $line_num, $pod_para);
987 elsif ($text =~ /^\s+/) {
988 ## Indented text - must be a verbatim paragraph
989 $self->verbatim($text, $line_num, $pod_para);
992 ## Looks like an ordinary block of text
993 $self->textblock($text, $line_num, $pod_para);
998 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1000 =head1 B<parse_from_filehandle()>
1002 $parser->parse_from_filehandle($in_fh,$out_fh);
1004 This method takes an input filehandle (which is assumed to already be
1005 opened for reading) and reads the entire input stream looking for blocks
1006 (paragraphs) of POD documentation to be processed. If no first argument
1007 is given the default input filehandle C<STDIN> is used.
1009 The C<$in_fh> parameter may be any object that provides a B<getline()>
1010 method to retrieve a single line of input text (hence, an appropriate
1011 wrapper object could be used to parse PODs from a single string or an
1014 Using C<$in_fh-E<gt>getline()>, input is read line-by-line and assembled
1015 into paragraphs or "blocks" (which are separated by lines containing
1016 nothing but whitespace). For each block of POD documentation
1017 encountered it will invoke a method to parse the given paragraph.
1019 If a second argument is given then it should correspond to a filehandle where
1020 output should be sent (otherwise the default output filehandle is
1021 C<STDOUT> if no output filehandle is currently in use).
1023 B<NOTE:> For performance reasons, this method caches the input stream at
1024 the top of the stack in a local variable. Any attempts by clients to
1025 change the stack contents during processing when in the midst executing
1026 of this method I<will not affect> the input stream used by the current
1027 invocation of this method.
1029 This method does I<not> usually need to be overridden by subclasses.
1033 sub parse_from_filehandle {
1035 my %opts = (ref $_[0] eq 'HASH') ? %{ shift() } : ();
1036 my ($in_fh, $out_fh) = @_;
1037 $in_fh = \*STDIN unless ($in_fh);
1038 local *myData = $self; ## alias to avoid deref-ing overhead
1039 local *myOpts = ($myData{_PARSEOPTS} ||= {}); ## get parse-options
1042 ## Put this stream at the top of the stack and do beginning-of-input
1043 ## processing. NOTE that $in_fh might be reset during this process.
1044 my $topstream = $self->_push_input_stream($in_fh, $out_fh);
1045 (exists $opts{-cutting}) and $self->cutting( $opts{-cutting} );
1047 ## Initialize line/paragraph
1048 my ($textline, $paragraph) = ('', '');
1049 my ($nlines, $plines) = (0, 0);
1051 ## Use <$fh> instead of $fh->getline where possible (for speed)
1053 my $tied_fh = (/^(?:GLOB|FileHandle|IO::\w+)$/ or tied $in_fh);
1055 ## Read paragraphs line-by-line
1056 while (defined ($textline = $tied_fh ? <$in_fh> : $in_fh->getline)) {
1057 $textline = $self->preprocess_line($textline, ++$nlines);
1058 next unless ((defined $textline) && (length $textline));
1059 $_ = $paragraph; ## save previous contents
1061 if ((! length $paragraph) && ($textline =~ /^==/)) {
1062 ## '==' denotes a one-line command paragraph
1063 $paragraph = $textline;
1067 ## Append this line to the current paragraph
1068 $paragraph .= $textline;
1072 ## See if this line is blank and ends the current paragraph.
1073 ## If it isnt, then keep iterating until it is.
1074 next unless (($textline =~ /^([^\S\r\n]*)[\r\n]*$/)
1075 && (length $paragraph));
1077 ## Issue a warning about any non-empty blank lines
1078 if (length($1) > 1 and $myOpts{'-warnings'} and ! $myData{_CUTTING}) {
1079 my $errorsub = $self->errorsub();
1080 my $file = $self->input_file();
1081 $file = VMS::Filespec::unixify($file) if $^O eq 'VMS';
1082 my $errmsg = "*** WARNING: line containing nothing but whitespace".
1083 " in paragraph at line $nlines in file $file\n";
1084 (ref $errorsub) and &{$errorsub}($errmsg)
1085 or (defined $errorsub) and $self->$errorsub($errmsg)
1089 ## Now process the paragraph
1090 parse_paragraph($self, $paragraph, ($nlines - $plines) + 1);
1094 ## Dont forget about the last paragraph in the file
1095 if (length $paragraph) {
1096 parse_paragraph($self, $paragraph, ($nlines - $plines) + 1)
1099 ## Now pop the input stream off the top of the input stack.
1100 $self->_pop_input_stream();
1103 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1105 =head1 B<parse_from_file()>
1107 $parser->parse_from_file($filename,$outfile);
1109 This method takes a filename and does the following:
1115 opens the input and output files for reading
1116 (creating the appropriate filehandles)
1120 invokes the B<parse_from_filehandle()> method passing it the
1121 corresponding input and output filehandles.
1125 closes the input and output files.
1129 If the special input filename "-" or "<&STDIN" is given then the STDIN
1130 filehandle is used for input (and no open or close is performed). If no
1131 input filename is specified then "-" is implied.
1133 If a second argument is given then it should be the name of the desired
1134 output file. If the special output filename "-" or ">&STDOUT" is given
1135 then the STDOUT filehandle is used for output (and no open or close is
1136 performed). If the special output filename ">&STDERR" is given then the
1137 STDERR filehandle is used for output (and no open or close is
1138 performed). If no output filehandle is currently in use and no output
1139 filename is specified, then "-" is implied.
1141 This method does I<not> usually need to be overridden by subclasses.
1145 sub parse_from_file {
1147 my %opts = (ref $_[0] eq 'HASH') ? %{ shift() } : ();
1148 my ($infile, $outfile) = @_;
1149 my ($in_fh, $out_fh);
1150 my ($close_input, $close_output) = (0, 0);
1151 local *myData = $self;
1154 ## Is $infile a filename or a (possibly implied) filehandle
1155 $infile = '-' unless ((defined $infile) && (length $infile));
1156 if (($infile eq '-') || ($infile =~ /^<&(STDIN|0)$/i)) {
1157 ## Not a filename, just a string implying STDIN
1158 $myData{_INFILE} = "<standard input>";
1161 elsif (ref $infile) {
1162 ## Must be a filehandle-ref (or else assume its a ref to an object
1163 ## that supports the common IO read operations).
1164 $myData{_INFILE} = ${$infile};
1168 ## We have a filename, open it for reading
1169 $myData{_INFILE} = $infile;
1170 open($in_fh, "< $infile") or
1171 croak "Can't open $infile for reading: $!\n";
1175 ## NOTE: we need to be *very* careful when "defaulting" the output
1176 ## file. We only want to use a default if this is the beginning of
1177 ## the entire document (but *not* if this is an included file). We
1178 ## determine this by seeing if the input stream stack has been set-up
1181 unless ((defined $outfile) && (length $outfile)) {
1182 (defined $myData{_TOP_STREAM}) && ($out_fh = $myData{_OUTPUT})
1183 || ($outfile = '-');
1185 ## Is $outfile a filename or a (possibly implied) filehandle
1186 if ((defined $outfile) && (length $outfile)) {
1187 if (($outfile eq '-') || ($outfile =~ /^>&?(?:STDOUT|1)$/i)) {
1188 ## Not a filename, just a string implying STDOUT
1189 $myData{_OUTFILE} = "<standard output>";
1192 elsif ($outfile =~ /^>&(STDERR|2)$/i) {
1193 ## Not a filename, just a string implying STDERR
1194 $myData{_OUTFILE} = "<standard error>";
1197 elsif (ref $outfile) {
1198 ## Must be a filehandle-ref (or else assume its a ref to an
1199 ## object that supports the common IO write operations).
1200 $myData{_OUTFILE} = ${$outfile};;
1204 ## We have a filename, open it for writing
1205 $myData{_OUTFILE} = $outfile;
1206 open($out_fh, "> $outfile") or
1207 croak "Can't open $outfile for writing: $!\n";
1212 ## Whew! That was a lot of work to set up reasonably/robust behavior
1213 ## in the case of a non-filename for reading and writing. Now we just
1214 ## have to parse the input and close the handles when we're finished.
1215 $self->parse_from_filehandle(\%opts, $in_fh, $out_fh);
1218 close($in_fh) || croak "Can't close $infile after reading: $!\n";
1220 close($out_fh) || croak "Can't close $outfile after writing: $!\n";
1223 #############################################################################
1225 =head1 ACCESSOR METHODS
1227 Clients of B<Pod::Parser> should use the following methods to access
1228 instance data fields:
1232 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1234 =head1 B<errorsub()>
1236 $parser->errorsub("method_name");
1237 $parser->errorsub(\&warn_user);
1238 $parser->errorsub(sub { print STDERR, @_ });
1240 Specifies the method or subroutine to use when printing error messages
1241 about POD syntax. The supplied method/subroutine I<must> return TRUE upon
1242 successful printing of the message. If C<undef> is given, then the B<warn>
1243 builtin is used to issue error messages (this is the default behavior).
1245 my $errorsub = $parser->errorsub()
1246 my $errmsg = "This is an error message!\n"
1247 (ref $errorsub) and &{$errorsub}($errmsg)
1248 or (defined $errorsub) and $parser->$errorsub($errmsg)
1251 Returns a method name, or else a reference to the user-supplied subroutine
1252 used to print error messages. Returns C<undef> if the B<warn> builtin
1253 is used to issue error messages (this is the default behavior).
1258 return (@_ > 1) ? ($_[0]->{_ERRORSUB} = $_[1]) : $_[0]->{_ERRORSUB};
1261 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1265 $boolean = $parser->cutting();
1267 Returns the current C<cutting> state: a boolean-valued scalar which
1268 evaluates to true if text from the input file is currently being "cut"
1269 (meaning it is I<not> considered part of the POD document).
1271 $parser->cutting($boolean);
1273 Sets the current C<cutting> state to the given value and returns the
1279 return (@_ > 1) ? ($_[0]->{_CUTTING} = $_[1]) : $_[0]->{_CUTTING};
1282 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1284 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1286 =head1 B<parseopts()>
1288 When invoked with no additional arguments, B<parseopts> returns a hashtable
1289 of all the current parsing options.
1291 ## See if we are parsing non-POD sections as well as POD ones
1292 my %opts = $parser->parseopts();
1293 $opts{'-want_nonPODs}' and print "-want_nonPODs\n";
1295 When invoked using a single string, B<parseopts> treats the string as the
1296 name of a parse-option and returns its corresponding value if it exists
1297 (returns C<undef> if it doesn't).
1299 ## Did we ask to see '=cut' paragraphs?
1300 my $want_cut = $parser->parseopts('-process_cut_cmd');
1301 $want_cut and print "-process_cut_cmd\n";
1303 When invoked with multiple arguments, B<parseopts> treats them as
1304 key/value pairs and the specified parse-option names are set to the
1305 given values. Any unspecified parse-options are unaffected.
1307 ## Set them back to the default
1308 $parser->parseopts(-warnings => 0);
1310 When passed a single hash-ref, B<parseopts> uses that hash to completely
1311 reset the existing parse-options, all previous parse-option values
1314 ## Reset all options to default
1315 $parser->parseopts( { } );
1317 See L<"PARSING OPTIONS"> for more information on the name and meaning of each
1318 parse-option currently recognized.
1323 local *myData = shift;
1324 local *myOpts = ($myData{_PARSEOPTS} ||= {});
1325 return %myOpts if (@_ == 0);
1328 return ref($_) ? $myData{_PARSEOPTS} = $_ : $myOpts{$_};
1330 my @newOpts = (%myOpts, @_);
1331 $myData{_PARSEOPTS} = { @newOpts };
1334 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1336 =head1 B<output_file()>
1338 $fname = $parser->output_file();
1340 Returns the name of the output file being written.
1345 return $_[0]->{_OUTFILE};
1348 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1350 =head1 B<output_handle()>
1352 $fhandle = $parser->output_handle();
1354 Returns the output filehandle object.
1359 return $_[0]->{_OUTPUT};
1362 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1364 =head1 B<input_file()>
1366 $fname = $parser->input_file();
1368 Returns the name of the input file being read.
1373 return $_[0]->{_INFILE};
1376 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1378 =head1 B<input_handle()>
1380 $fhandle = $parser->input_handle();
1382 Returns the current input filehandle object.
1387 return $_[0]->{_INPUT};
1390 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1394 =head1 B<input_streams()>
1396 $listref = $parser->input_streams();
1398 Returns a reference to an array which corresponds to the stack of all
1399 the input streams that are currently in the middle of being parsed.
1401 While parsing an input stream, it is possible to invoke
1402 B<parse_from_file()> or B<parse_from_filehandle()> to parse a new input
1403 stream and then return to parsing the previous input stream. Each input
1404 stream to be parsed is pushed onto the end of this input stack
1405 before any of its input is read. The input stream that is currently
1406 being parsed is always at the end (or top) of the input stack. When an
1407 input stream has been exhausted, it is popped off the end of the
1410 Each element on this input stack is a reference to C<Pod::InputSource>
1411 object. Please see L<Pod::InputObjects> for more details.
1413 This method might be invoked when printing diagnostic messages, for example,
1414 to obtain the name and line number of the all input files that are currently
1422 return $_[0]->{_INPUT_STREAMS};
1425 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1429 =head1 B<top_stream()>
1431 $hashref = $parser->top_stream();
1433 Returns a reference to the hash-table that represents the element
1434 that is currently at the top (end) of the input stream stack
1435 (see L<"input_streams()">). The return value will be the C<undef>
1436 if the input stack is empty.
1438 This method might be used when printing diagnostic messages, for example,
1439 to obtain the name and line number of the current input file.
1446 return $_[0]->{_TOP_STREAM} || undef;
1449 #############################################################################
1451 =head1 PRIVATE METHODS AND DATA
1453 B<Pod::Parser> makes use of several internal methods and data fields
1454 which clients should not need to see or use. For the sake of avoiding
1455 name collisions for client data and methods, these methods and fields
1456 are briefly discussed here. Determined hackers may obtain further
1457 information about them by reading the B<Pod::Parser> source code.
1459 Private data fields are stored in the hash-object whose reference is
1460 returned by the B<new()> constructor for this class. The names of all
1461 private methods and data-fields used by B<Pod::Parser> begin with a
1462 prefix of "_" and match the regular expression C</^_\w+$/>.
1466 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1470 =head1 B<_push_input_stream()>
1472 $hashref = $parser->_push_input_stream($in_fh,$out_fh);
1474 This method will push the given input stream on the input stack and
1475 perform any necessary beginning-of-document or beginning-of-file
1476 processing. The argument C<$in_fh> is the input stream filehandle to
1477 push, and C<$out_fh> is the corresponding output filehandle to use (if
1478 it is not given or is undefined, then the current output stream is used,
1479 which defaults to standard output if it doesnt exist yet).
1481 The value returned will be reference to the hash-table that represents
1482 the new top of the input stream stack. I<Please Note> that it is
1483 possible for this method to use default values for the input and output
1484 file handles. If this happens, you will need to look at the C<INPUT>
1485 and C<OUTPUT> instance data members to determine their new values.
1491 sub _push_input_stream {
1492 my ($self, $in_fh, $out_fh) = @_;
1493 local *myData = $self;
1495 ## Initialize stuff for the entire document if this is *not*
1496 ## an included file.
1498 ## NOTE: we need to be *very* careful when "defaulting" the output
1499 ## filehandle. We only want to use a default value if this is the
1500 ## beginning of the entire document (but *not* if this is an included
1502 unless (defined $myData{_TOP_STREAM}) {
1503 $out_fh = \*STDOUT unless (defined $out_fh);
1504 $myData{_CUTTING} = 1; ## current "cutting" state
1505 $myData{_INPUT_STREAMS} = []; ## stack of all input streams
1508 ## Initialize input indicators
1509 $myData{_OUTFILE} = '(unknown)' unless (defined $myData{_OUTFILE});
1510 $myData{_OUTPUT} = $out_fh if (defined $out_fh);
1511 $in_fh = \*STDIN unless (defined $in_fh);
1512 $myData{_INFILE} = '(unknown)' unless (defined $myData{_INFILE});
1513 $myData{_INPUT} = $in_fh;
1514 my $input_top = $myData{_TOP_STREAM}
1515 = new Pod::InputSource(
1516 -name => $myData{_INFILE},
1518 -was_cutting => $myData{_CUTTING}
1520 local *input_stack = $myData{_INPUT_STREAMS};
1521 push(@input_stack, $input_top);
1523 ## Perform beginning-of-document and/or beginning-of-input processing
1524 $self->begin_pod() if (@input_stack == 1);
1525 $self->begin_input();
1530 ##---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1534 =head1 B<_pop_input_stream()>
1536 $hashref = $parser->_pop_input_stream();
1538 This takes no arguments. It will perform any necessary end-of-file or
1539 end-of-document processing and then pop the current input stream from
1540 the top of the input stack.
1542 The value returned will be reference to the hash-table that represents
1543 the new top of the input stream stack.
1549 sub _pop_input_stream {
1551 local *myData = $self;
1552 local *input_stack = $myData{_INPUT_STREAMS};
1554 ## Perform end-of-input and/or end-of-document processing
1555 $self->end_input() if (@input_stack > 0);
1556 $self->end_pod() if (@input_stack == 1);
1558 ## Restore cutting state to whatever it was before we started
1559 ## parsing this file.
1560 my $old_top = pop(@input_stack);
1561 $myData{_CUTTING} = $old_top->was_cutting();
1563 ## Dont forget to reset the input indicators
1564 my $input_top = undef;
1565 if (@input_stack > 0) {
1566 $input_top = $myData{_TOP_STREAM} = $input_stack[-1];
1567 $myData{_INFILE} = $input_top->name();
1568 $myData{_INPUT} = $input_top->handle();
1570 delete $myData{_TOP_STREAM};
1571 delete $myData{_INPUT_STREAMS};
1577 #############################################################################
1579 =head1 TREE-BASED PARSING
1581 If straightforward stream-based parsing wont meet your needs (as is
1582 likely the case for tasks such as translating PODs into structured
1583 markup languages like HTML and XML) then you may need to take the
1584 tree-based approach. Rather than doing everything in one pass and
1585 calling the B<interpolate()> method to expand sequences into text, it
1586 may be desirable to instead create a parse-tree using the B<parse_text()>
1587 method to return a tree-like structure which may contain an ordered list
1588 list of children (each of which may be a text-string, or a similar
1589 tree-like structure).
1591 Pay special attention to L<"METHODS FOR PARSING AND PROCESSING"> and
1592 to the objects described in L<Pod::InputObjects>. The former describes
1593 the gory details and parameters for how to customize and extend the
1594 parsing behavior of B<Pod::Parser>. B<Pod::InputObjects> provides
1595 several objects that may all be used interchangeably as parse-trees. The
1596 most obvious one is the B<Pod::ParseTree> object. It defines the basic
1597 interface and functionality that all things trying to be a POD parse-tree
1598 should do. A B<Pod::ParseTree> is defined such that each "node" may be a
1599 text-string, or a reference to another parse-tree. Each B<Pod::Paragraph>
1600 object and each B<Pod::InteriorSequence> object also supports the basic
1601 parse-tree interface.
1603 The B<parse_text()> method takes a given paragraph of text, and
1604 returns a parse-tree that contains one or more children, each of which
1605 may be a text-string, or an InteriorSequence object. There are also
1606 callback-options that may be passed to B<parse_text()> to customize
1607 the way it expands or transforms interior-sequences, as well as the
1608 returned result. These callbacks can be used to create a parse-tree
1609 with custom-made objects (which may or may not support the parse-tree
1610 interface, depending on how you choose to do it).
1612 If you wish to turn an entire POD document into a parse-tree, that process
1613 is fairly straightforward. The B<parse_text()> method is the key to doing
1614 this successfully. Every paragraph-callback (i.e. the polymorphic methods
1615 for B<command()>, B<verbatim()>, and B<textblock()> paragraphs) takes
1616 a B<Pod::Paragraph> object as an argument. Each paragraph object has a
1617 B<parse_tree()> method that can be used to get or set a corresponding
1618 parse-tree. So for each of those paragraph-callback methods, simply call
1619 B<parse_text()> with the options you desire, and then use the returned
1620 parse-tree to assign to the given paragraph object.
1622 That gives you a parse-tree for each paragraph - so now all you need is
1623 an ordered list of paragraphs. You can maintain that yourself as a data
1624 element in the object/hash. The most straightforward way would be simply
1625 to use an array-ref, with the desired set of custom "options" for each
1626 invocation of B<parse_text>. Let's assume the desired option-set is
1627 given by the hash C<%options>. Then we might do something like the
1630 package MyPodParserTree;
1632 @ISA = qw( Pod::Parser );
1638 $self->{'-paragraphs'} = []; ## initialize paragraph list
1642 my ($parser, $command, $paragraph, $line_num, $pod_para) = @_;
1643 my $ptree = $parser->parse_text({%options}, $paragraph, ...);
1644 $pod_para->parse_tree( $ptree );
1645 push @{ $self->{'-paragraphs'} }, $pod_para;
1649 my ($parser, $paragraph, $line_num, $pod_para) = @_;
1650 push @{ $self->{'-paragraphs'} }, $pod_para;
1654 my ($parser, $paragraph, $line_num, $pod_para) = @_;
1655 my $ptree = $parser->parse_text({%options}, $paragraph, ...);
1656 $pod_para->parse_tree( $ptree );
1657 push @{ $self->{'-paragraphs'} }, $pod_para;
1664 my $parser = new MyPodParserTree(...);
1665 $parser->parse_from_file(...);
1666 my $paragraphs_ref = $parser->{'-paragraphs'};
1668 Of course, in this module-author's humble opinion, I'd be more inclined to
1669 use the existing B<Pod::ParseTree> object than a simple array. That way
1670 everything in it, paragraphs and sequences, all respond to the same core
1671 interface for all parse-tree nodes. The result would look something like:
1673 package MyPodParserTree2;
1679 $self->{'-ptree'} = new Pod::ParseTree; ## initialize parse-tree
1683 ## convenience method to get/set the parse-tree for the entire POD
1684 (@_ > 1) and $_[0]->{'-ptree'} = $_[1];
1685 return $_[0]->{'-ptree'};
1689 my ($parser, $command, $paragraph, $line_num, $pod_para) = @_;
1690 my $ptree = $parser->parse_text({<<options>>}, $paragraph, ...);
1691 $pod_para->parse_tree( $ptree );
1692 $parser->parse_tree()->append( $pod_para );
1696 my ($parser, $paragraph, $line_num, $pod_para) = @_;
1697 $parser->parse_tree()->append( $pod_para );
1701 my ($parser, $paragraph, $line_num, $pod_para) = @_;
1702 my $ptree = $parser->parse_text({<<options>>}, $paragraph, ...);
1703 $pod_para->parse_tree( $ptree );
1704 $parser->parse_tree()->append( $pod_para );
1711 my $parser = new MyPodParserTree2(...);
1712 $parser->parse_from_file(...);
1713 my $ptree = $parser->parse_tree;
1716 Now you have the entire POD document as one great big parse-tree. You
1717 can even use the B<-expand_seq> option to B<parse_text> to insert
1718 whole different kinds of objects. Just don't expect B<Pod::Parser>
1719 to know what to do with them after that. That will need to be in your
1720 code. Or, alternatively, you can insert any object you like so long as
1721 it conforms to the B<Pod::ParseTree> interface.
1723 One could use this to create subclasses of B<Pod::Paragraphs> and
1724 B<Pod::InteriorSequences> for specific commands (or to create your own
1725 custom node-types in the parse-tree) and add some kind of B<emit()>
1726 method to each custom node/subclass object in the tree. Then all you'd
1727 need to do is recursively walk the tree in the desired order, processing
1728 the children (most likely from left to right) by formatting them if
1729 they are text-strings, or by calling their B<emit()> method if they
1730 are objects/references.
1734 L<Pod::InputObjects>, L<Pod::Select>
1736 B<Pod::InputObjects> defines POD input objects corresponding to
1737 command paragraphs, parse-trees, and interior-sequences.
1739 B<Pod::Select> is a subclass of B<Pod::Parser> which provides the ability
1740 to selectively include and/or exclude sections of a POD document from being
1741 translated based upon the current heading, subheading, subsubheading, etc.
1744 B<Pod::Callbacks> is a subclass of B<Pod::Parser> which gives its users
1745 the ability the employ I<callback functions> instead of, or in addition
1746 to, overriding methods of the base class.
1749 B<Pod::Select> and B<Pod::Callbacks> do not override any
1750 methods nor do they define any new methods with the same name. Because
1751 of this, they may I<both> be used (in combination) as a base class of
1752 the same subclass in order to combine their functionality without
1753 causing any namespace clashes due to multiple inheritance.
1757 Brad Appleton E<lt>bradapp@enteract.comE<gt>
1759 Based on code for B<Pod::Text> written by
1760 Tom Christiansen E<lt>tchrist@mox.perl.comE<gt>