1 # Generated by perlmodlib.PL DO NOT EDIT!
5 perlmodlib - constructing new Perl modules and finding existing ones
9 =head1 THE PERL MODULE LIBRARY
11 Many modules are included the Perl distribution. These are described
12 below, and all end in F<.pm>. You may discover compiled library
13 file (usually ending in F<.so>) or small pieces of modules to be
14 autoloaded (ending in F<.al>); these were automatically generated
15 by the installation process. You may also discover files in the
16 library directory that end in either F<.pl> or F<.ph>. These are
17 old libraries supplied so that old programs that use them still
18 run. The F<.pl> files will all eventually be converted into standard
19 modules, and the F<.ph> files made by B<h2ph> will probably end up
20 as extension modules made by B<h2xs>. (Some F<.ph> values may
21 already be available through the POSIX, Errno, or Fcntl modules.)
22 The B<pl2pm> file in the distribution may help in your conversion,
23 but it's just a mechanical process and therefore far from bulletproof.
25 =head2 Pragmatic Modules
27 They work somewhat like compiler directives (pragmata) in that they
28 tend to affect the compilation of your program, and thus will usually
29 work well only when used within a C<use>, or C<no>. Most of these
30 are lexically scoped, so an inner BLOCK may countermand them
37 which lasts until the end of that BLOCK.
39 Some pragmas are lexically scoped--typically those that affect the
40 C<$^H> hints variable. Others affect the current package instead,
41 like C<use vars> and C<use subs>, which allow you to predeclare a
42 variables or subroutines within a particular I<file> rather than
43 just a block. Such declarations are effective for the entire file
44 for which they were declared. You cannot rescind them with C<no
47 The following pragmas are defined (and have their own documentation).
53 Get/set subroutine or variable attributes
57 Set/get attributes of a subroutine (deprecated)
61 Postpone load of modules until a function is used
65 Establish IS-A relationship with base class at compile time
69 Use MakeMaker's uninstalled version of a package
73 Force byte semantics rather than character semantics
77 Define character names for C<\N{named}> string literal escape.
85 Perl compiler pragma to force verbose warning diagnostics
89 Compile-time class fields
93 Control the filetest permission operators
97 Use integer arithmetic instead of floating point
101 Request less of something from the compiler
105 Use and avoid POSIX locales for built-in operations
109 Set default disciplines for input and output
113 Restrict unsafe operations when compiling
117 Package for overloading perl operations
121 Alter regular expression behaviour
125 Enable simple signal handling
129 Restrict unsafe constructs
135 =item unicode::distinct
137 Strictly distinguish UTF8 data and non-UTF data.
141 Enable/disable UTF-8 (or UTF-EBCDIC) in source code
145 Predeclare global variable names (obsolete)
149 Control optional warnings
151 =item warnings::register
153 Warnings import function
157 =head2 Standard Modules
159 Standard, bundled modules are all expected to behave in a well-defined
160 manner with respect to namespace pollution because they use the
161 Exporter module. See their own documentation for details.
167 Provide framework for multiple DBMs
169 =item Attribute::Handlers
171 Simpler definition of attribute handlers
175 Load subroutines only on demand
179 Split a package for autoloading
187 Autogenerated data about Perl ops, used to generate bytecode
191 Assemble Perl bytecode
199 Perl compiler's bytecode backend
203 Perl compiler's C backend
207 Perl compiler's optimized C translation backend
211 Walk Perl syntax tree, printing concise info about ops
215 Walk Perl syntax tree, printing debug info about ops
219 Perl compiler backend to produce perl code
221 =item B::Disassembler
223 Disassemble Perl bytecode
231 Show lexical variables used in functions or files
235 Helper module for CC backend
239 Show what stashes are loaded
243 Walk Perl syntax tree, printing terse info about ops
247 Generates cross reference reports for Perl programs
251 Benchmark running times of Perl code
255 Load byte compiled perl code
259 Simple Common Gateway Interface Class
263 Backward compatibility module for CGI.pm
267 CGI routines for writing to the HTTPD (or other) error log
271 Interface to Netscape Cookies
275 CGI Interface for Fast CGI
279 Module to produce nicely formatted HTML code
283 Simple Interface to Server Push
287 Backward compatibility module for defunct CGI::Switch
291 Internal utilities used by CGI module
295 Query, download and build perl modules from CPAN sites
297 =item CPAN::FirstTime
299 Utility for CPAN::Config file Initialization
303 Wrapper around CPAN.pm without using any XS module
307 Warn of errors (from perspective of caller)
311 No user serviceable parts inside
315 Report the search path for a class's ISA tree
319 Declare struct-like datatypes as Perl classes
323 Get pathname of current working directory
327 Programmatic interface to the Perl debugging API (draft, subject to
331 Perl5 access to Berkeley DB version 1.x
333 =item Devel::SelfStubber
335 Generate stubs for a SelfLoading module
339 Modules that calculate message digests
343 Supply object methods for directory handles
347 Provides screen dump of Perl data.
353 =item Encode::EncodeFormat
355 The format of encoding tables of the Encode extension
363 Use nice English (or awk) names for ugly punctuation variables
367 Perl module that imports environment variables as scalars or arrays
371 Implements default import method for modules
373 =item Exporter::Heavy
377 =item ExtUtils::Command
379 Utilities to replace common UNIX commands in Makefiles etc.
381 =item ExtUtils::Constant
383 Generate XS code to import C header constants
385 =item ExtUtils::Embed
387 Utilities for embedding Perl in C/C++ applications
389 =item ExtUtils::Install
391 Install files from here to there
393 =item ExtUtils::Installed
395 Inventory management of installed modules
397 =item ExtUtils::Liblist
399 Determine libraries to use and how to use them
401 =item ExtUtils::MM_Cygwin
403 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
405 =item ExtUtils::MM_NW5
407 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
409 =item ExtUtils::MM_OS2
411 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
413 =item ExtUtils::MM_Unix
415 Methods used by ExtUtils::MakeMaker
417 =item ExtUtils::MM_VMS
419 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
421 =item ExtUtils::MM_Win32
423 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
425 =item ExtUtils::MakeMaker
427 Create an extension Makefile
429 =item ExtUtils::Manifest
431 Utilities to write and check a MANIFEST file
433 =item ExtUtils::Mkbootstrap
435 Make a bootstrap file for use by DynaLoader
437 =item ExtUtils::Mksymlists
439 Write linker options files for dynamic extension
441 =item ExtUtils::Packlist
443 Manage .packlist files
445 =item ExtUtils::testlib
447 Add blib/* directories to @INC
451 Replace functions with equivalents which succeed or die
455 Load the C Fcntl.h defines
459 Split a pathname into pieces
461 =item File::CheckTree
463 Run many filetest checks on a tree
467 Compare files or filehandles
471 Copy files or filehandles
475 DOS like globbing and then some
483 Create or remove directory trees
487 Portably perform operations on file names
489 =item File::Spec::Epoc
491 Methods for Epoc file specs
493 =item File::Spec::Functions
495 Portably perform operations on file names
497 =item File::Spec::Mac
501 =item File::Spec::OS2
503 Methods for OS/2 file specs
505 =item File::Spec::Unix
507 Methods used by File::Spec
509 =item File::Spec::VMS
511 Methods for VMS file specs
513 =item File::Spec::Win32
515 Methods for Win32 file specs
519 Return name and handle of a temporary file safely
523 By-name interface to Perl's built-in stat() functions
527 Keep more files open than the system permits
531 Supply object methods for filehandles
535 Simplified source filtering
539 Locate directory of original perl script
543 Extended processing of command line options
547 Process single-character switches with switch clustering
551 Compare 8-bit scalar data according to the current locale
555 Functions for dealing with RFC3066-style language tags
557 =item I18N::LangTags::List
559 Tags and names for human languages
563 Load various IO modules
567 Open a process for both reading and writing
571 Open a process for reading, writing, and error handling
573 =item Locale::Constants
575 Constants for Locale codes
577 =item Locale::Country
579 ISO codes for country identification (ISO 3166)
581 =item Locale::Currency
583 ISO three letter codes for currency identification (ISO 4217)
585 =item Locale::Language
587 ISO two letter codes for language identification (ISO 639)
589 =item Locale::Maketext
591 Framework for localization
593 =item Locale::Maketext::TPJ13
595 Article about software localization
599 Arbitrary size floating point math package
603 Arbitrary size integer math package
607 Complex numbers and associated mathematical functions
611 Trigonometric functions
615 Make your functions faster by trading space for time
617 =item Memoize::AnyDBM_File
619 Glue to provide EXISTS for AnyDBM_File for Storable use
621 =item Memoize::Expire
623 Plug-in module for automatic expiration of memoized values
625 =item Memoize::ExpireFile
627 Test for Memoize expiration semantics
629 =item Memoize::ExpireTest
631 Test for Memoize expiration semantics
633 =item Memoize::NDBM_File
635 Glue to provide EXISTS for NDBM_File for Storable use
637 =item Memoize::SDBM_File
639 Glue to provide EXISTS for SDBM_File for Storable use
643 Plug-in module to specify which return values should be memoized
645 =item Memoize::Storable
647 Store Memoized data in Storable database
651 Tied access to ndbm files
655 Provide a pseudo-class NEXT that allows method redispatch
659 Network Command class (as used by FTP, SMTP etc)
663 Local configuration data for libnet
667 Attempt to evaluate the current host's internet name and domain
669 =item Net::DummyInetd
683 OO interface to users netrc file
687 CCSO Nameserver Client class
691 Post Office Protocol 3 Client class (RFC1081)
695 Check a remote host for reachability
699 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Client
703 Simple Network Pager Protocol Client
707 Time and daytime network client interface
711 By-name interface to Perl's built-in gethost*() functions
715 Libnet Frequently Asked Questions
719 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getnet*() functions
723 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getproto*() functions
727 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getserv*() functions
731 Generic interface to Perl Compiler backends
735 Tied access to odbm files
739 Disable named opcodes when compiling perl code
743 Perl interface to IEEE Std 1003.1
747 On demand loader for PerlIO layers and root of PerlIO::* name space
751 Check pod documents for syntax errors
755 Find POD documents in directory trees
759 Module to convert pod files to HTML
761 =item Pod::InputObjects
763 Objects representing POD input paragraphs, commands, etc.
767 Convert Pod data to formatted Latex
771 Convert POD data to formatted *roff input
773 =item Pod::ParseUtils
775 Helpers for POD parsing and conversion
779 Base class for creating POD filters and translators
783 Perl extension for converting Pod to old style Pod.
787 Extract selected sections of POD from input
791 Convert POD data to formatted ASCII text
793 =item Pod::Text::Color
795 Convert POD data to formatted color ASCII text
797 =item Pod::Text::Overstrike
799 Convert POD data to formatted overstrike text
801 =item Pod::Text::Termcap
803 Convert POD data to ASCII text with format escapes
807 Print a usage message from embedded pod documentation
811 Tied access to sdbm files
815 Compile and execute code in restricted compartments
819 Search for key in dictionary file
823 Save and restore selected file handle
827 Load functions only on demand
831 Run shell commands transparently within perl
835 Load the C socket.h defines and structure manipulators
839 Persistency for perl data structures
843 A switch statement for Perl
847 Manipulate Perl symbols and their names
849 =item Term::ANSIColor
851 Color screen output using ANSI escape sequences
855 Perl termcap interface
859 Perl word completion module
863 Perl interface to various C<readline> packages. If
867 Provides a simple framework for writing test scripts
871 Run perl standard test scripts with statistics
875 Create an abbreviation table from a list
879 Extract delimited text sequences from strings.
881 =item Text::ParseWords
883 Parse text into an array of tokens or array of arrays
887 Implementation of the Soundex Algorithm as Described by Knuth
891 Expand and unexpand tabs per the unix expand(1) and unexpand(1)
895 Line wrapping to form simple paragraphs
899 Base class for tied arrays
903 Base class definitions for tied handles
907 Base class definitions for tied hashes
911 Use references as hash keys
915 Base class definitions for tied scalars
917 =item Tie::SubstrHash
919 Fixed-table-size, fixed-key-length hashing
923 Efficiently compute time from local and GMT time
927 By-name interface to Perl's built-in gmtime() function
929 =item Time::localtime
931 By-name interface to Perl's built-in localtime() function
935 Internal object used by Time::gmtime and Time::localtime
939 Base class for ALL classes (blessed references)
943 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getgr*() functions
947 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getpw*() functions
951 Interfaces to some Win32 API Functions
955 To find out I<all> modules installed on your system, including
956 those without documentation or outside the standard release,
959 % find `perl -e 'print "@INC"'` -name '*.pm' -print
961 They should all have their own documentation installed and accessible
962 via your system man(1) command. If you do not have a B<find>
963 program, you can use the Perl B<find2perl> program instead, which
964 generates Perl code as output you can run through perl. If you
965 have a B<man> program but it doesn't find your modules, you'll have
966 to fix your manpath. See L<perl> for details. If you have no
967 system B<man> command, you might try the B<perldoc> program.
969 =head2 Extension Modules
971 Extension modules are written in C (or a mix of Perl and C). They
972 are usually dynamically loaded into Perl if and when you need them,
973 but may also be be linked in statically. Supported extension modules
974 include Socket, Fcntl, and POSIX.
976 Many popular C extension modules do not come bundled (at least, not
977 completely) due to their sizes, volatility, or simply lack of time
978 for adequate testing and configuration across the multitude of
979 platforms on which Perl was beta-tested. You are encouraged to
980 look for them on CPAN (described below), or using web search engines
981 like Alta Vista or Deja News.
985 CPAN stands for Comprehensive Perl Archive Network; it's a globally
986 replicated trove of Perl materials, including documentation, style
987 guides, tricks and traps, alternate ports to non-Unix systems and
988 occasional binary distributions for these. Search engines for
989 CPAN can be found at http://cpan.perl.com/ and at
990 http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/mod_perl/cpan-search.pl .
992 Most importantly, CPAN includes around a thousand unbundled modules,
993 some of which require a C compiler to build. Major categories of
1000 Language Extensions and Documentation Tools
1008 Operating System Interfaces
1012 Networking, Device Control (modems) and InterProcess Communication
1016 Data Types and Data Type Utilities
1028 Interfaces to / Emulations of Other Programming Languages
1032 File Names, File Systems and File Locking (see also File Handles)
1036 String Processing, Language Text Processing, Parsing, and Searching
1040 Option, Argument, Parameter, and Configuration File Processing
1044 Internationalization and Locale
1048 Authentication, Security, and Encryption
1052 World Wide Web, HTML, HTTP, CGI, MIME
1056 Server and Daemon Utilities
1060 Archiving and Compression
1064 Images, Pixmap and Bitmap Manipulation, Drawing, and Graphing
1068 Mail and Usenet News
1072 Control Flow Utilities (callbacks and exceptions etc)
1076 File Handle and Input/Output Stream Utilities
1080 Miscellaneous Modules
1084 Registered CPAN sites as of this writing include the following.
1085 You should try to choose one close to you:
1095 ftp://ftp.is.co.za/programming/perl/CPAN/
1096 ftp://ftp.saix.net/pub/CPAN/
1097 ftp://ftpza.co.za/pub/mirrors/cpan/
1098 ftp://ftp.sun.ac.za/CPAN/
1110 ftp://freesoft.cei.gov.cn/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1111 http://www2.linuxforum.net/mirror/CPAN/
1112 http://cpan.shellhung.org/
1113 ftp://ftp.shellhung.org/pub/CPAN
1119 http://CPAN.pacific.net.hk/
1120 ftp://ftp.pacific.net.hk/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1126 http://piksi.itb.ac.id/CPAN/
1127 ftp://mirrors.piksi.itb.ac.id/CPAN/
1128 http://CPAN.mweb.co.id/
1129 ftp://ftp.mweb.co.id/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1135 http://www.iglu.org.il:/pub/CPAN/
1136 ftp://ftp.iglu.org.il/pub/CPAN/
1137 http://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il/pub/software/perl/CPAN/
1138 ftp://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il/pub/software/perl/CPAN/
1144 ftp://ftp.u-aizu.ac.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1145 ftp://ftp.kddlabs.co.jp/CPAN/
1146 http://mirror.nucba.ac.jp/mirror/Perl/
1147 ftp://mirror.nucba.ac.jp/mirror/Perl/
1148 ftp://ftp.meisei-u.ac.jp/pub/CPAN/
1149 ftp://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1150 ftp://ftp.dti.ad.jp/pub/lang/CPAN/
1151 ftp://ftp.ring.gr.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1157 ftp://ftp.isu.net.sa/pub/CPAN/
1163 http://cpan.hjc.edu.sg
1164 http://ftp.nus.edu.sg/unix/perl/CPAN/
1165 ftp://ftp.nus.edu.sg/pub/unix/perl/CPAN/
1171 http://CPAN.bora.net/
1172 ftp://ftp.bora.net/pub/CPAN/
1173 http://ftp.kornet.net/CPAN/
1174 ftp://ftp.kornet.net/pub/CPAN/
1175 ftp://ftp.nuri.net/pub/CPAN/
1181 ftp://coda.nctu.edu.tw/UNIX/perl/CPAN
1182 ftp://ftp.ee.ncku.edu.tw/pub/perl/CPAN/
1183 ftp://ftp1.sinica.edu.tw/pub1/perl/CPAN/
1189 http://download.nectec.or.th/CPAN/
1190 ftp://ftp.nectec.or.th/pub/languages/CPAN/
1191 ftp://ftp.cs.riubon.ac.th/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
1195 =head2 Central America
1203 ftp://ftp.linux.co.cr/mirrors/CPAN/
1204 http://ftp.ucr.ac.cr/Unix/CPAN/
1205 ftp://ftp.ucr.ac.cr/pub/Unix/CPAN/
1217 ftp://ftp.tuwien.ac.at/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1223 http://ftp.easynet.be/CPAN/
1224 ftp://ftp.easynet.be/CPAN/
1225 ftp://ftp.kulnet.kuleuven.ac.be/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1231 ftp://ftp.ntrl.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
1237 ftp://ftp.linux.hr/pub/CPAN/
1243 http://www.fi.muni.cz/pub/perl/
1244 ftp://ftp.fi.muni.cz/pub/perl/
1245 ftp://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/MIRRORS/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1251 ftp://sunsite.auc.dk/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1252 http://www.cpan.dk/CPAN/
1253 ftp://www.cpan.dk/ftp.cpan.org/CPAN/
1259 http://www.mirror.ac.uk/sites/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
1260 ftp://ftp.mirror.ac.uk/sites/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1261 ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/mirrors/perl/CPAN/
1262 ftp://ftp.flirble.org/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1263 ftp://ftp.plig.org/pub/CPAN/
1264 ftp://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/CPAN/
1265 http://mirror.uklinux.net/CPAN/
1266 ftp://mirror.uklinux.net/pub/CPAN/
1267 ftp://usit.shef.ac.uk/pub/packages/CPAN/
1273 ftp://ftp.ut.ee/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1279 ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1285 ftp://cpan.ftp.worldonline.fr/pub/CPAN/
1286 ftp://ftp.club-internet.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
1287 ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
1288 ftp://ftp.oleane.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
1289 ftp://ftp.pasteur.fr/pub/computing/CPAN/
1290 ftp://cpan.cict.fr/pub/CPAN/
1291 ftp://ftp.uvsq.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
1297 ftp://ftp.rz.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pub/CPAN/
1298 ftp://ftp.freenet.de/pub/ftp.cpan.org/pub/CPAN/
1299 ftp://ftp.uni-erlangen.de/pub/source/CPAN/
1300 ftp://ftp-stud.fht-esslingen.de/pub/Mirrors/CPAN
1301 ftp://ftp.gigabell.net/pub/CPAN/
1302 http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1303 ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1304 ftp://ftp.uni-hamburg.de/pub/soft/lang/perl/CPAN/
1305 ftp://ftp.leo.org/pub/comp/general/programming/languages/script/perl/CPAN/
1306 ftp://ftp.mpi-sb.mpg.de/pub/perl/CPAN/
1307 ftp://ftp.gmd.de/mirrors/CPAN/
1313 ftp://ftp.forthnet.gr/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
1314 ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/lang/perl/
1320 http://cpan.artifact.hu/
1321 ftp://cpan.artifact.hu/CPAN/
1322 ftp://ftp.kfki.hu/pub/packages/perl/CPAN/
1329 ftp://ftp.gm.is/pub/CPAN/
1335 http://cpan.indigo.ie/
1336 ftp://cpan.indigo.ie/pub/CPAN/
1337 http://sunsite.compapp.dcu.ie/pub/perl/
1338 ftp://sunsite.compapp.dcu.ie/pub/perl/
1344 http://cpan.nettuno.it/
1345 http://gusp.dyndns.org/CPAN/
1346 ftp://gusp.dyndns.org/pub/CPAN
1347 http://softcity.iol.it/cpan
1348 ftp://softcity.iol.it/pub/cpan
1349 ftp://ftp.unina.it/pub/Other/CPAN/
1350 ftp://ftp.unipi.it/pub/mirror/perl/CPAN/
1351 ftp://cis.uniRoma2.it/CPAN/
1352 ftp://ftp.edisontel.it/pub/CPAN_Mirror/
1353 ftp://ftp.flashnet.it/pub/CPAN/
1359 http://kvin.lv/pub/CPAN/
1365 ftp://download.xs4all.nl/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1366 ftp://ftp.nl.uu.net/pub/CPAN/
1367 ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1368 ftp://ftp.cpan.nl/pub/CPAN/
1369 http://www.cs.uu.nl/mirror/CPAN/
1370 ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/mirror/CPAN/
1376 ftp://sunsite.uio.no/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1377 ftp://ftp.uit.no/pub/languages/perl/cpan/
1383 ftp://ftp.pk.edu.pl/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1384 ftp://ftp.mega.net.pl/pub/mirrors/ftp.perl.com/
1385 ftp://ftp.man.torun.pl/pub/doc/CPAN/
1386 ftp://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/pub/CPAN/
1392 ftp://ftp.ua.pt/pub/CPAN/
1393 ftp://perl.di.uminho.pt/pub/CPAN/
1394 ftp://ftp.ist.utl.pt/pub/CPAN/
1395 ftp://ftp.netc.pt/pub/CPAN/
1401 ftp://archive.logicnet.ro/mirrors/ftp.cpan.org/CPAN/
1402 ftp://ftp.kappa.ro/pub/mirrors/ftp.perl.org/pub/CPAN/
1403 ftp://ftp.dntis.ro/pub/cpan/
1404 ftp://ftp.opsynet.com/cpan/
1405 ftp://ftp.dnttm.ro/pub/CPAN/
1406 ftp://ftp.timisoara.roedu.net/mirrors/CPAN/
1412 ftp://ftp.chg.ru/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1413 http://cpan.rinet.ru/
1414 ftp://cpan.rinet.ru/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1415 ftp://ftp.aha.ru/pub/CPAN/
1416 ftp://ftp.sai.msu.su/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1422 ftp://ftp.entry.sk/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1428 ftp://ftp.arnes.si/software/perl/CPAN/
1434 ftp://ftp.rediris.es/mirror/CPAN/
1435 ftp://ftp.etse.urv.es/pub/perl/
1441 http://ftp.du.se/CPAN/
1442 ftp://ftp.du.se/pub/CPAN/
1443 ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1449 ftp://ftp.danyk.ch/CPAN/
1450 ftp://sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch/mirror/CPAN/
1456 ftp://sunsite.bilkent.edu.tr/pub/languages/CPAN/
1460 =head2 North America
1474 http://sunsite.ualberta.ca/pub/Mirror/CPAN/
1475 ftp://sunsite.ualberta.ca/pub/Mirror/CPAN/
1481 http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/pub/CPAN/
1482 ftp://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/pub/CPAN/
1488 ftp://cpan.chebucto.ns.ca/pub/CPAN/
1494 ftp://ftp.crc.ca/pub/packages/lang/perl/CPAN/
1500 http://www.msg.com.mx/CPAN/
1501 ftp://ftp.msg.com.mx/pub/CPAN/
1515 http://mirror.hiwaay.net/CPAN/
1516 ftp://mirror.hiwaay.net/CPAN/
1522 http://www.cpan.org/
1523 ftp://ftp.cpan.org/CPAN/
1524 ftp://cpan.nas.nasa.gov/pub/perl/CPAN/
1525 ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/plan/perl/CPAN/
1526 http://www.kernel.org/pub/mirrors/cpan/
1527 ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/mirrors/cpan/
1528 http://www.perl.com/CPAN/
1529 http://download.sourceforge.net/mirrors/CPAN/
1535 ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
1541 ftp://ftp.cise.ufl.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
1547 ftp://ftp.twoguys.org/CPAN/
1553 http://www.neurogames.com/mirrors/CPAN
1554 http://uiarchive.uiuc.edu/mirrors/ftp/ftp.cpan.org/pub/CPAN/
1555 ftp://uiarchive.uiuc.edu/mirrors/ftp/ftp.cpan.org/pub/CPAN/
1561 ftp://ftp.uwsg.indiana.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
1562 http://cpan.nitco.com/
1563 ftp://cpan.nitco.com/pub/CPAN/
1564 ftp://cpan.in-span.net/
1565 http://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pub/CPAN
1566 ftp://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pub/CPAN
1572 http://cpan.uky.edu/
1573 ftp://cpan.uky.edu/pub/CPAN/
1579 ftp://ftp.ccs.neu.edu/net/mirrors/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1580 ftp://ftp.iguide.com/pub/mirrors/packages/perl/CPAN/
1586 ftp://ftp.cpanel.net/pub/CPAN/
1592 ftp://ftp.freesoftware.com/pub/perl/CPAN/
1593 http://www.deao.net/mirrors/CPAN/
1594 ftp://ftp.deao.net/pub/CPAN/
1595 ftp://ftp.stealth.net/pub/mirrors/ftp.cpan.org/pub/CPAN/
1596 http://mirror.nyc.anidea.com/CPAN/
1597 ftp://mirror.nyc.anidea.com/pub/CPAN/
1598 http://www.rge.com/pub/languages/perl/
1599 ftp://ftp.rge.com/pub/languages/perl/
1600 ftp://mirrors.cloud9.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
1606 ftp://ftp.duke.edu/pub/perl/
1612 ftp://ftp.loaded.net/pub/CPAN/
1618 ftp://ftp.ou.edu/mirrors/CPAN/
1624 ftp://ftp.orst.edu/pub/packages/CPAN/
1630 http://ftp.epix.net/CPAN/
1631 ftp://ftp.epix.net/pub/languages/perl/
1632 ftp://carroll.cac.psu.edu/pub/CPAN/
1638 ftp://ftp.sunsite.utk.edu/pub/CPAN/
1644 http://ftp.sedl.org/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
1645 http://jhcloos.com/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1646 ftp://jhcloos.com/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1652 ftp://mirror.xmission.com/CPAN/
1658 http://mirrors.rcn.net/pub/lang/CPAN/
1659 ftp://mirrors.rcn.net/pub/lang/CPAN/
1660 ftp://ruff.cs.jmu.edu/pub/CPAN/
1661 http://perl.Liquidation.com/CPAN/
1667 http://cpan.llarian.net/
1668 ftp://cpan.llarian.net/pub/CPAN/
1669 ftp://ftp-mirror.internap.com/pub/CPAN/
1670 ftp://ftp.spu.edu/pub/CPAN/
1684 http://ftp.planetmirror.com/pub/CPAN/
1685 ftp://ftp.planetmirror.com/pub/CPAN/
1686 ftp://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/perl/CPAN/
1687 ftp://cpan.topend.com.au/pub/CPAN/
1693 ftp://ftp.auckland.ac.nz/pub/perl/CPAN/
1697 =head2 South America
1705 ftp://mirrors.bannerlandia.com.ar/mirrors/CPAN/
1711 ftp://cpan.pop-mg.com.br/pub/CPAN/
1712 ftp://ftp.matrix.com.br/pub/perl/
1713 ftp://cpan.if.usp.br/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1719 ftp://ftp.psinet.cl/pub/programming/perl/CPAN/
1720 ftp://sunsite.dcc.uchile.cl/pub/lang/perl/
1724 For an up-to-date listing of CPAN sites,
1725 see http://www.cpan.org/SITES or ftp://www.cpan.org/SITES .
1727 =head1 Modules: Creation, Use, and Abuse
1729 (The following section is borrowed directly from Tim Bunce's modules
1730 file, available at your nearest CPAN site.)
1732 Perl implements a class using a package, but the presence of a
1733 package doesn't imply the presence of a class. A package is just a
1734 namespace. A class is a package that provides subroutines that can be
1735 used as methods. A method is just a subroutine that expects, as its
1736 first argument, either the name of a package (for "static" methods),
1737 or a reference to something (for "virtual" methods).
1739 A module is a file that (by convention) provides a class of the same
1740 name (sans the .pm), plus an import method in that class that can be
1741 called to fetch exported symbols. This module may implement some of
1742 its methods by loading dynamic C or C++ objects, but that should be
1743 totally transparent to the user of the module. Likewise, the module
1744 might set up an AUTOLOAD function to slurp in subroutine definitions on
1745 demand, but this is also transparent. Only the F<.pm> file is required to
1746 exist. See L<perlsub>, L<perltoot>, and L<AutoLoader> for details about
1747 the AUTOLOAD mechanism.
1749 =head2 Guidelines for Module Creation
1755 Do similar modules already exist in some form?
1757 If so, please try to reuse the existing modules either in whole or
1758 by inheriting useful features into a new class. If this is not
1759 practical try to get together with the module authors to work on
1760 extending or enhancing the functionality of the existing modules.
1761 A perfect example is the plethora of packages in perl4 for dealing
1762 with command line options.
1764 If you are writing a module to expand an already existing set of
1765 modules, please coordinate with the author of the package. It
1766 helps if you follow the same naming scheme and module interaction
1767 scheme as the original author.
1771 Try to design the new module to be easy to extend and reuse.
1773 Try to C<use warnings;> (or C<use warnings qw(...);>).
1774 Remember that you can add C<no warnings qw(...);> to individual blocks
1775 of code that need less warnings.
1777 Use blessed references. Use the two argument form of bless to bless
1778 into the class name given as the first parameter of the constructor,
1783 return bless {}, $class;
1786 or even this if you'd like it to be used as either a static
1787 or a virtual method.
1791 my $class = ref($self) || $self;
1792 return bless {}, $class;
1795 Pass arrays as references so more parameters can be added later
1796 (it's also faster). Convert functions into methods where
1797 appropriate. Split large methods into smaller more flexible ones.
1798 Inherit methods from other modules if appropriate.
1800 Avoid class name tests like: C<die "Invalid" unless ref $ref eq 'FOO'>.
1801 Generally you can delete the C<eq 'FOO'> part with no harm at all.
1802 Let the objects look after themselves! Generally, avoid hard-wired
1803 class names as far as possible.
1805 Avoid C<< $r->Class::func() >> where using C<@ISA=qw(... Class ...)> and
1806 C<< $r->func() >> would work (see L<perlbot> for more details).
1808 Use autosplit so little used or newly added functions won't be a
1809 burden to programs that don't use them. Add test functions to
1810 the module after __END__ either using AutoSplit or by saying:
1812 eval join('',<main::DATA>) || die $@ unless caller();
1814 Does your module pass the 'empty subclass' test? If you say
1815 C<@SUBCLASS::ISA = qw(YOURCLASS);> your applications should be able
1816 to use SUBCLASS in exactly the same way as YOURCLASS. For example,
1817 does your application still work if you change: C<$obj = new YOURCLASS;>
1818 into: C<$obj = new SUBCLASS;> ?
1820 Avoid keeping any state information in your packages. It makes it
1821 difficult for multiple other packages to use yours. Keep state
1822 information in objects.
1826 Try to C<use strict;> (or C<use strict qw(...);>).
1827 Remember that you can add C<no strict qw(...);> to individual blocks
1828 of code that need less strictness.
1832 Follow the guidelines in the perlstyle(1) manual.
1838 Some simple style guidelines
1840 The perlstyle manual supplied with Perl has many helpful points.
1842 Coding style is a matter of personal taste. Many people evolve their
1843 style over several years as they learn what helps them write and
1844 maintain good code. Here's one set of assorted suggestions that
1845 seem to be widely used by experienced developers:
1847 Use underscores to separate words. It is generally easier to read
1848 $var_names_like_this than $VarNamesLikeThis, especially for
1849 non-native speakers of English. It's also a simple rule that works
1850 consistently with VAR_NAMES_LIKE_THIS.
1852 Package/Module names are an exception to this rule. Perl informally
1853 reserves lowercase module names for 'pragma' modules like integer
1854 and strict. Other modules normally begin with a capital letter and
1855 use mixed case with no underscores (need to be short and portable).
1857 You may find it helpful to use letter case to indicate the scope
1858 or nature of a variable. For example:
1860 $ALL_CAPS_HERE constants only (beware clashes with Perl vars)
1861 $Some_Caps_Here package-wide global/static
1862 $no_caps_here function scope my() or local() variables
1864 Function and method names seem to work best as all lowercase.
1865 e.g., C<< $obj->as_string() >>.
1867 You can use a leading underscore to indicate that a variable or
1868 function should not be used outside the package that defined it.
1872 Select what to export.
1874 Do NOT export method names!
1876 Do NOT export anything else by default without a good reason!
1878 Exports pollute the namespace of the module user. If you must
1879 export try to use @EXPORT_OK in preference to @EXPORT and avoid
1880 short or common names to reduce the risk of name clashes.
1882 Generally anything not exported is still accessible from outside the
1883 module using the ModuleName::item_name (or C<< $blessed_ref->method >>)
1884 syntax. By convention you can use a leading underscore on names to
1885 indicate informally that they are 'internal' and not for public use.
1887 (It is actually possible to get private functions by saying:
1888 C<my $subref = sub { ... }; &$subref;>. But there's no way to call that
1889 directly as a method, because a method must have a name in the symbol
1892 As a general rule, if the module is trying to be object oriented
1893 then export nothing. If it's just a collection of functions then
1894 @EXPORT_OK anything but use @EXPORT with caution.
1898 Select a name for the module.
1900 This name should be as descriptive, accurate, and complete as
1901 possible. Avoid any risk of ambiguity. Always try to use two or
1902 more whole words. Generally the name should reflect what is special
1903 about what the module does rather than how it does it. Please use
1904 nested module names to group informally or categorize a module.
1905 There should be a very good reason for a module not to have a nested name.
1906 Module names should begin with a capital letter.
1908 Having 57 modules all called Sort will not make life easy for anyone
1909 (though having 23 called Sort::Quick is only marginally better :-).
1910 Imagine someone trying to install your module alongside many others.
1911 If in any doubt ask for suggestions in comp.lang.perl.misc.
1913 If you are developing a suite of related modules/classes it's good
1914 practice to use nested classes with a common prefix as this will
1915 avoid namespace clashes. For example: Xyz::Control, Xyz::View,
1916 Xyz::Model etc. Use the modules in this list as a naming guide.
1918 If adding a new module to a set, follow the original author's
1919 standards for naming modules and the interface to methods in
1922 If developing modules for private internal or project specific use,
1923 that will never be released to the public, then you should ensure
1924 that their names will not clash with any future public module. You
1925 can do this either by using the reserved Local::* category or by
1926 using a category name that includes an underscore like Foo_Corp::*.
1928 To be portable each component of a module name should be limited to
1929 11 characters. If it might be used on MS-DOS then try to ensure each is
1930 unique in the first 8 characters. Nested modules make this easier.
1934 Have you got it right?
1936 How do you know that you've made the right decisions? Have you
1937 picked an interface design that will cause problems later? Have
1938 you picked the most appropriate name? Do you have any questions?
1940 The best way to know for sure, and pick up many helpful suggestions,
1941 is to ask someone who knows. Comp.lang.perl.misc is read by just about
1942 all the people who develop modules and it's the best place to ask.
1944 All you need to do is post a short summary of the module, its
1945 purpose and interfaces. A few lines on each of the main methods is
1946 probably enough. (If you post the whole module it might be ignored
1947 by busy people - generally the very people you want to read it!)
1949 Don't worry about posting if you can't say when the module will be
1950 ready - just say so in the message. It might be worth inviting
1951 others to help you, they may be able to complete it for you!
1955 README and other Additional Files.
1957 It's well known that software developers usually fully document the
1958 software they write. If, however, the world is in urgent need of
1959 your software and there is not enough time to write the full
1960 documentation please at least provide a README file containing:
1966 A description of the module/package/extension etc.
1970 A copyright notice - see below.
1974 Prerequisites - what else you may need to have.
1978 How to build it - possible changes to Makefile.PL etc.
1986 Recent changes in this release, especially incompatibilities
1990 Changes / enhancements you plan to make in the future.
1994 If the README file seems to be getting too large you may wish to
1995 split out some of the sections into separate files: INSTALL,
2000 =item Adding a Copyright Notice.
2003 How you choose to license your work is a personal decision.
2004 The general mechanism is to assert your Copyright and then make
2005 a declaration of how others may copy/use/modify your work.
2007 Perl, for example, is supplied with two types of licence: The GNU
2008 GPL and The Artistic Licence (see the files README, Copying, and
2009 Artistic). Larry has good reasons for NOT just using the GNU GPL.
2011 My personal recommendation, out of respect for Larry, Perl, and the
2012 Perl community at large is to state something simply like:
2014 Copyright (c) 1995 Your Name. All rights reserved.
2015 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
2016 modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
2018 This statement should at least appear in the README file. You may
2019 also wish to include it in a Copying file and your source files.
2020 Remember to include the other words in addition to the Copyright.
2024 Give the module a version/issue/release number.
2026 To be fully compatible with the Exporter and MakeMaker modules you
2027 should store your module's version number in a non-my package
2028 variable called $VERSION. This should be a floating point
2029 number with at least two digits after the decimal (i.e., hundredths,
2030 e.g, C<$VERSION = "0.01">). Don't use a "1.3.2" style version.
2031 See L<Exporter> for details.
2033 It may be handy to add a function or method to retrieve the number.
2034 Use the number in announcements and archive file names when
2035 releasing the module (ModuleName-1.02.tar.Z).
2036 See perldoc ExtUtils::MakeMaker.pm for details.
2040 How to release and distribute a module.
2042 It's good idea to post an announcement of the availability of your
2043 module (or the module itself if small) to the comp.lang.perl.announce
2044 Usenet newsgroup. This will at least ensure very wide once-off
2047 If possible, register the module with CPAN. You should
2048 include details of its location in your announcement.
2050 Some notes about ftp archives: Please use a long descriptive file
2051 name that includes the version number. Most incoming directories
2052 will not be readable/listable, i.e., you won't be able to see your
2053 file after uploading it. Remember to send your email notification
2054 message as soon as possible after uploading else your file may get
2055 deleted automatically. Allow time for the file to be processed
2056 and/or check the file has been processed before announcing its
2059 FTP Archives for Perl Modules:
2061 Follow the instructions and links on:
2063 http://www.cpan.org/modules/00modlist.long.html
2064 http://www.cpan.org/modules/04pause.html
2066 or upload to one of these sites:
2068 https://pause.kbx.de/pause/
2069 http://pause.perl.org/pause/
2071 and notify <modules@perl.org>.
2073 By using the WWW interface you can ask the Upload Server to mirror
2074 your modules from your ftp or WWW site into your own directory on
2077 Please remember to send me an updated entry for the Module list!
2081 Take care when changing a released module.
2083 Always strive to remain compatible with previous released versions.
2084 Otherwise try to add a mechanism to revert to the
2085 old behavior if people rely on it. Document incompatible changes.
2091 =head2 Guidelines for Converting Perl 4 Library Scripts into Modules
2097 There is no requirement to convert anything.
2099 If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Perl 4 library scripts should
2100 continue to work with no problems. You may need to make some minor
2101 changes (like escaping non-array @'s in double quoted strings) but
2102 there is no need to convert a .pl file into a Module for just that.
2106 Consider the implications.
2108 All Perl applications that make use of the script will need to
2109 be changed (slightly) if the script is converted into a module. Is
2110 it worth it unless you plan to make other changes at the same time?
2114 Make the most of the opportunity.
2116 If you are going to convert the script to a module you can use the
2117 opportunity to redesign the interface. The guidelines for module
2118 creation above include many of the issues you should consider.
2122 The pl2pm utility will get you started.
2124 This utility will read *.pl files (given as parameters) and write
2125 corresponding *.pm files. The pl2pm utilities does the following:
2131 Adds the standard Module prologue lines
2135 Converts package specifiers from ' to ::
2139 Converts die(...) to croak(...)
2143 Several other minor changes
2147 Being a mechanical process pl2pm is not bullet proof. The converted
2148 code will need careful checking, especially any package statements.
2149 Don't delete the original .pl file till the new .pm one works!
2153 =head2 Guidelines for Reusing Application Code
2159 Complete applications rarely belong in the Perl Module Library.
2163 Many applications contain some Perl code that could be reused.
2165 Help save the world! Share your code in a form that makes it easy
2170 Break-out the reusable code into one or more separate module files.
2174 Take the opportunity to reconsider and redesign the interfaces.
2178 In some cases the 'application' can then be reduced to a small
2180 fragment of code built on top of the reusable modules. In these cases
2181 the application could invoked as:
2183 % perl -e 'use Module::Name; method(@ARGV)' ...
2185 % perl -mModule::Name ... (in perl5.002 or higher)
2191 Perl does not enforce private and public parts of its modules as you may
2192 have been used to in other languages like C++, Ada, or Modula-17. Perl
2193 doesn't have an infatuation with enforced privacy. It would prefer
2194 that you stayed out of its living room because you weren't invited, not
2195 because it has a shotgun.
2197 The module and its user have a contract, part of which is common law,
2198 and part of which is "written". Part of the common law contract is
2199 that a module doesn't pollute any namespace it wasn't asked to. The
2200 written contract for the module (A.K.A. documentation) may make other
2201 provisions. But then you know when you C<use RedefineTheWorld> that
2202 you're redefining the world and willing to take the consequences.