2 Generated by perlmodlib.PL -- DO NOT EDIT!
6 perlmodlib - constructing new Perl modules and finding existing ones
8 =head1 THE PERL MODULE LIBRARY
10 Many modules are included in the Perl distribution. These are described
11 below, and all end in F<.pm>. You may discover compiled library
12 files (usually ending in F<.so>) or small pieces of modules to be
13 autoloaded (ending in F<.al>); these were automatically generated
14 by the installation process. You may also discover files in the
15 library directory that end in either F<.pl> or F<.ph>. These are
16 old libraries supplied so that old programs that use them still
17 run. The F<.pl> files will all eventually be converted into standard
18 modules, and the F<.ph> files made by B<h2ph> will probably end up
19 as extension modules made by B<h2xs>. (Some F<.ph> values may
20 already be available through the POSIX, Errno, or Fcntl modules.)
21 The B<pl2pm> file in the distribution may help in your conversion,
22 but it's just a mechanical process and therefore far from bulletproof.
24 =head2 Pragmatic Modules
26 They work somewhat like compiler directives (pragmata) in that they
27 tend to affect the compilation of your program, and thus will usually
28 work well only when used within a C<use>, or C<no>. Most of these
29 are lexically scoped, so an inner BLOCK may countermand them
36 which lasts until the end of that BLOCK.
38 Some pragmas are lexically scoped--typically those that affect the
39 C<$^H> hints variable. Others affect the current package instead,
40 like C<use vars> and C<use subs>, which allow you to predeclare a
41 variables or subroutines within a particular I<file> rather than
42 just a block. Such declarations are effective for the entire file
43 for which they were declared. You cannot rescind them with C<no
46 The following pragmas are defined (and have their own documentation).
54 =item assertions::activate
60 Get/set subroutine or variable attributes
64 Set/get attributes of a subroutine (deprecated)
68 Postpone load of modules until a function is used
72 Establish IS-A relationship with base class at compile time
76 Transparent BigInteger support for Perl
80 Transparent BigNumber support for Perl
84 Transparent BigNumber/BigRationale support for Perl
88 Use MakeMaker's uninstalled version of a package
92 Force byte semantics rather than character semantics
96 Define character names for C<\N{named}> string literal escapes
104 Perl compiler pragma to force verbose warning diagnostics
108 Allows you to write your script in non-ascii or non-utf8
112 Compile-time class fields
116 Control the filetest permission operators
120 C<use> a Perl module if a condition holds
124 Use integer arithmetic instead of floating point
128 Request less of something from the compiler
132 Manipulate @INC at compile time
136 Use and avoid POSIX locales for built-in operations
140 Set default PerlIO layers for input and output
144 Restrict unsafe operations when compiling
148 Package for overloading perl operations
152 Alter regular expression behaviour
156 Enable simple signal handling
160 Control sort() behaviour
164 Restrict unsafe constructs
172 Perl extension allowing use of interpreter based threads from perl
174 =item threads::shared
176 Perl extension for sharing data structures between threads
180 Enable/disable UTF-8 (or UTF-EBCDIC) in source code
184 Predeclare global variable names (obsolete)
188 Perl extension for Version Objects
192 Control VMS-specific language features
196 Control optional warnings
198 =item warnings::register
200 Warnings import function
204 =head2 Standard Modules
206 Standard, bundled modules are all expected to behave in a well-defined
207 manner with respect to namespace pollution because they use the
208 Exporter module. See their own documentation for details.
210 It's possible that not all modules listed below are installed on your
211 system. For example, the GDBM_File module will not be installed if you
212 don't have the gdbm library.
218 Provide framework for multiple DBMs
220 =item Attribute::Handlers
222 Simpler definition of attribute handlers
226 Load subroutines only on demand
230 Split a package for autoloading
238 Autogenerated data about Perl ops, used to generate bytecode
242 Assemble Perl bytecode
250 Perl compiler's bytecode backend
254 Perl compiler's C backend
258 Perl compiler's optimized C translation backend
262 Walk Perl syntax tree, printing concise info about ops
266 Walk Perl syntax tree, printing debug info about ops
270 Perl compiler backend to produce perl code
272 =item B::Disassembler
274 Disassemble Perl bytecode
282 Show lexical variables used in functions or files
286 Helper module for CC backend
290 Show what stashes are loaded
294 Walk Perl syntax tree, printing terse info about ops
298 Generates cross reference reports for Perl programs
302 Benchmark running times of Perl code
306 Load byte compiled perl code
310 Simple Common Gateway Interface Class
314 Backward compatibility module for CGI.pm
318 CGI routines for writing to the HTTPD (or other) error log
322 Interface to Netscape Cookies
326 CGI Interface for Fast CGI
330 Module to produce nicely formatted HTML code
334 Simple Interface to Server Push
338 Backward compatibility module for defunct CGI::Switch
342 Internal utilities used by CGI module
346 Query, download and build perl modules from CPAN sites
348 =item CPAN::FirstTime
350 Utility for CPAN::Config file Initialization
354 Wrapper around CPAN.pm without using any XS module
358 Warn of errors (from perspective of caller)
362 No user serviceable parts inside
366 Report the search path for a class's ISA tree
370 Declare struct-like datatypes as Perl classes
374 Access Perl configuration information
378 Get pathname of current working directory
382 Programmatic interface to the Perl debugging API (draft, subject to
386 Perl5 access to Berkeley DB version 1.x
390 Stringified perl data structures, suitable for both printing and C<eval>
398 Perl/Pollution/Portability
402 A data debugging tool for the XS programmer
404 =item Devel::SelfStubber
406 Generate stubs for a SelfLoading module
410 Modules that calculate message digests
414 Perl interface to the MD5 Algorithm
418 Supply object methods for directory handles
422 Provides screen dump of Perl data.
426 Dynamically load C libraries into Perl code
434 Alias definitions to encodings
438 Single Byte Encodings
440 =item Encode::CJKConstants
442 Internally used by Encode::??::ISO_2022_*
446 China-based Chinese Encodings
450 Internally used by Encode::CN
454 Internally used by Encode
460 =item Encode::Encoder
462 Object Oriented Encoder
464 =item Encode::Encoding
466 Encode Implementation Base Class
470 Guesses encoding from data
476 =item Encode::JP::H2Z
478 Internally used by Encode::JP::2022_JP*
480 =item Encode::JP::JIS7
482 Internally used by Encode::JP
488 =item Encode::KR::2022_KR
490 Internally used by Encode::KR
492 =item Encode::MIME::Header
494 MIME 'B' and 'Q' header encoding
498 A detailed document on Encode and PerlIO
500 =item Encode::Supported
502 Encodings supported by Encode
510 Taiwan-based Chinese Encodings
512 =item Encode::Unicode
514 Various Unicode Transformation Formats
518 Use nice English (or awk) names for ugly punctuation variables
522 Perl module that imports environment variables as scalars or arrays
526 System errno constants
530 Implements default import method for modules
532 =item Exporter::Heavy
536 =item ExtUtils::Command
538 Utilities to replace common UNIX commands in Makefiles etc.
540 =item ExtUtils::Command::MM
542 Commands for the MM's to use in Makefiles
544 =item ExtUtils::Constant
546 Generate XS code to import C header constants
548 =item ExtUtils::Embed
550 Utilities for embedding Perl in C/C++ applications
552 =item ExtUtils::Install
554 Install files from here to there
556 =item ExtUtils::Installed
558 Inventory management of installed modules
560 =item ExtUtils::Liblist
562 Determine libraries to use and how to use them
566 OS adjusted ExtUtils::MakeMaker subclass
568 =item ExtUtils::MM_Any
570 Platform agnostic MM methods
572 =item ExtUtils::MM_BeOS
574 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
576 =item ExtUtils::MM_Cygwin
578 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
580 =item ExtUtils::MM_DOS
582 DOS specific subclass of ExtUtils::MM_Unix
584 =item ExtUtils::MM_MacOS
586 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
588 =item ExtUtils::MM_NW5
590 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
592 =item ExtUtils::MM_OS2
594 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
596 =item ExtUtils::MM_UWIN
598 U/WIN specific subclass of ExtUtils::MM_Unix
600 =item ExtUtils::MM_Unix
602 Methods used by ExtUtils::MakeMaker
604 =item ExtUtils::MM_VMS
606 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
608 =item ExtUtils::MM_Win32
610 Methods to override UN*X behaviour in ExtUtils::MakeMaker
612 =item ExtUtils::MM_Win95
614 Method to customize MakeMaker for Win9X
618 ExtUtils::MakeMaker subclass for customization
620 =item ExtUtils::MakeMaker
622 Create a module Makefile
624 =item ExtUtils::MakeMaker::FAQ
626 Frequently Asked Questions About MakeMaker
628 =item ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial
630 Writing a module with MakeMaker
632 =item ExtUtils::MakeMaker::vmsish
634 Platform agnostic vmsish.pm
636 =item ExtUtils::Manifest
638 Utilities to write and check a MANIFEST file
640 =item ExtUtils::Mkbootstrap
642 Make a bootstrap file for use by DynaLoader
644 =item ExtUtils::Mksymlists
646 Write linker options files for dynamic extension
648 =item ExtUtils::Packlist
650 Manage .packlist files
652 =item ExtUtils::testlib
654 Add blib/* directories to @INC
658 Replace functions with equivalents which succeed or die
662 Load the C Fcntl.h defines
666 Split a pathname into pieces
668 =item File::CheckTree
670 Run many filetest checks on a tree
674 Compare files or filehandles
678 Copy files or filehandles
682 DOS like globbing and then some
686 Traverse a directory tree.
690 Perl extension for BSD glob routine
694 Create or remove directory trees
698 Portably perform operations on file names
700 =item File::Spec::Cygwin
702 Methods for Cygwin file specs
704 =item File::Spec::Epoc
706 Methods for Epoc file specs
708 =item File::Spec::Functions
710 Portably perform operations on file names
712 =item File::Spec::Mac
714 File::Spec for Mac OS (Classic)
716 =item File::Spec::OS2
718 Methods for OS/2 file specs
720 =item File::Spec::Unix
722 File::Spec for Unix, base for other File::Spec modules
724 =item File::Spec::VMS
726 Methods for VMS file specs
728 =item File::Spec::Win32
730 Methods for Win32 file specs
734 Return name and handle of a temporary file safely
738 By-name interface to Perl's built-in stat() functions
742 Keep more files open than the system permits
746 Supply object methods for filehandles
750 Simplified source filtering
752 =item Filter::Util::Call
754 Perl Source Filter Utility Module
758 Locate directory of original perl script
762 Perl5 access to the gdbm library.
766 Extended processing of command line options
770 Process single-character switches with switch clustering
774 A selection of general-utility hash subroutines
778 Compare 8-bit scalar data according to the current locale
782 Functions for dealing with RFC3066-style language tags
784 =item I18N::LangTags::List
786 Tags and names for human languages
790 Query locale information
794 Load various IO modules
798 Supply object methods for directory handles
802 Supply object methods for filehandles
806 Supply object methods for I/O handles
810 Supply object methods for pipes
814 Object interface to system poll call
818 Supply seek based methods for I/O objects
822 OO interface to the select system call
826 Object interface to socket communications
828 =item IO::Socket::INET
830 Object interface for AF_INET domain sockets
832 =item IO::Socket::UNIX
834 Object interface for AF_UNIX domain sockets
838 Open a process for both reading and writing
842 Open a process for reading, writing, and error handling
850 SysV Msg IPC object class
852 =item IPC::SysV::Semaphore
854 SysV Semaphore IPC object class
858 A selection of general-utility list subroutines
860 =item Locale::Constants
862 Constants for Locale codes
864 =item Locale::Country
866 ISO codes for country identification (ISO 3166)
868 =item Locale::Currency
870 ISO three letter codes for currency identification (ISO 4217)
872 =item Locale::Language
874 ISO two letter codes for language identification (ISO 639)
876 =item Locale::Maketext
878 Framework for localization
880 =item Locale::Maketext::TPJ13
882 Article about software localization
886 ISO codes for script identification (ISO 15924)
890 Encoding and decoding of base64 strings
892 =item MIME::Base64::QuotedPrint
894 Encoding and decoding of quoted-printable strings
898 Arbitrary size floating point math package
902 Arbitrary size integer math package
904 =item Math::BigInt::Calc
906 Pure Perl module to support Math::BigInt
908 =item Math::BigInt::Scalar
910 Pure Perl module to test Math::BigInt with scalars
914 Arbitrarily big rationales
918 Complex numbers and associated mathematical functions
922 Trigonometric functions
926 Make functions faster by trading space for time
928 =item Memoize::AnyDBM_File
930 Glue to provide EXISTS for AnyDBM_File for Storable use
932 =item Memoize::Expire
934 Plug-in module for automatic expiration of memoized values
936 =item Memoize::ExpireFile
938 Test for Memoize expiration semantics
940 =item Memoize::ExpireTest
942 Test for Memoize expiration semantics
944 =item Memoize::NDBM_File
946 Glue to provide EXISTS for NDBM_File for Storable use
948 =item Memoize::SDBM_File
950 Glue to provide EXISTS for SDBM_File for Storable use
952 =item Memoize::Storable
954 Store Memoized data in Storable database
958 Tied access to ndbm files
962 Provide a pseudo-class NEXT that allows method redispatch
966 Network Command class (as used by FTP, SMTP etc)
970 Local configuration data for libnet
974 Attempt to evaluate the current host's internet name and domain
986 OO interface to users netrc file
990 Post Office Protocol 3 Client class (RFC1939)
994 Check a remote host for reachability
998 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Client
1002 Time and daytime network client interface
1006 By-name interface to Perl's built-in gethost*() functions
1008 =item Net::libnetFAQ
1010 Libnet Frequently Asked Questions
1014 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getnet*() functions
1018 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getproto*() functions
1022 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getserv*() functions
1026 Generic interface to Perl Compiler backends
1030 Tied access to odbm files
1034 Disable named opcodes when compiling perl code
1038 Perl interface to IEEE Std 1003.1
1042 On demand loader for PerlIO layers and root of PerlIO::* name space
1044 =item PerlIO::encoding
1048 =item PerlIO::scalar
1050 Support module for in-memory IO.
1054 Helper class for PerlIO layers implemented in perl
1056 =item PerlIO::via::QuotedPrint
1058 PerlIO layer for quoted-printable strings
1062 Check pod documents for syntax errors
1066 Find POD documents in directory trees
1068 =item Pod::Functions
1070 Group Perl's functions a la perlfunc.pod
1074 Module to convert pod files to HTML
1076 =item Pod::InputObjects
1078 Objects representing POD input paragraphs, commands, etc.
1082 Convert Pod data to formatted Latex
1086 Convert POD data to formatted *roff input
1088 =item Pod::ParseLink
1090 Parse an LE<lt>E<gt> formatting code in POD text
1092 =item Pod::ParseUtils
1094 Helpers for POD parsing and conversion
1098 Base class for creating POD filters and translators
1100 =item Pod::Perldoc::ToChecker
1102 Let Perldoc check Pod for errors
1104 =item Pod::Perldoc::ToMan
1106 Let Perldoc render Pod as man pages
1108 =item Pod::Perldoc::ToNroff
1110 Let Perldoc convert Pod to nroff
1112 =item Pod::Perldoc::ToPod
1114 Let Perldoc render Pod as ... Pod!
1116 =item Pod::Perldoc::ToRtf
1118 Let Perldoc render Pod as RTF
1120 =item Pod::Perldoc::ToText
1122 Let Perldoc render Pod as plaintext
1124 =item Pod::Perldoc::ToTk
1126 Let Perldoc use Tk::Pod to render Pod
1128 =item Pod::Perldoc::ToXml
1130 Let Perldoc render Pod as XML
1132 =item Pod::PlainText
1134 Convert POD data to formatted ASCII text
1138 Perl extension for converting Pod to old style Pod.
1142 Extract selected sections of POD from input
1146 Convert POD data to formatted ASCII text
1148 =item Pod::Text::Color
1150 Convert POD data to formatted color ASCII text
1152 =item Pod::Text::Overstrike
1154 Convert POD data to formatted overstrike text
1156 =item Pod::Text::Termcap
1158 Convert POD data to ASCII text with format escapes
1162 Print a usage message from embedded pod documentation
1166 Tied access to sdbm files
1170 Compile and execute code in restricted compartments
1174 A selection of general-utility scalar subroutines
1178 Search for key in dictionary file
1182 Save and restore selected file handle
1186 Load functions only on demand
1190 Run shell commands transparently within perl
1194 Load the C socket.h defines and structure manipulators
1198 Persistence for Perl data structures
1202 A switch statement for Perl
1206 Manipulate Perl symbols and their names
1210 Try every conceivable way to get hostname
1214 Perl interface to the UNIX syslog(3) calls
1216 =item Term::ANSIColor
1218 Color screen output using ANSI escape sequences
1222 Perl termcap interface
1224 =item Term::Complete
1226 Perl word completion module
1228 =item Term::ReadLine
1230 Perl interface to various C<readline> packages.
1234 Provides a simple framework for writing test scripts
1238 Backend for building test libraries
1242 Run perl standard test scripts with statistics
1244 =item Test::Harness::Assert
1248 =item Test::Harness::Iterator
1250 Internal Test::Harness Iterator
1252 =item Test::Harness::Straps
1254 Detailed analysis of test results
1258 Yet another framework for writing test scripts
1262 Basic utilities for writing tests.
1264 =item Test::Tutorial
1266 A tutorial about writing really basic tests
1270 Create an abbreviation table from a list
1272 =item Text::Balanced
1274 Extract delimited text sequences from strings.
1276 =item Text::ParseWords
1278 Parse text into an array of tokens or array of arrays
1282 Implementation of the Soundex Algorithm as Described by Knuth
1286 Expand and unexpand tabs per the unix expand(1) and unexpand(1)
1290 Line wrapping to form simple paragraphs
1294 Manipulate threads in Perl (for old code only)
1300 =item Thread::Semaphore
1302 Thread-safe semaphores
1304 =item Thread::Signal
1306 Start a thread which runs signal handlers reliably (for old code)
1308 =item Thread::Specific
1310 Thread-specific keys
1314 Base class for tied arrays
1318 Access the lines of a disk file via a Perl array
1322 Base class definitions for tied handles
1326 Base class definitions for tied hashes
1330 Add data to hash when needed
1334 Use references as hash keys
1338 Base class definitions for tied scalars
1340 =item Tie::SubstrHash
1342 Fixed-table-size, fixed-key-length hashing
1346 High resolution alarm, sleep, gettimeofday, interval timers
1350 Efficiently compute time from local and GMT time
1354 By-name interface to Perl's built-in gmtime() function
1356 =item Time::localtime
1358 By-name interface to Perl's built-in localtime() function
1362 Internal object used by Time::gmtime and Time::localtime
1366 Base class for ALL classes (blessed references)
1368 =item Unicode::Collate
1370 Unicode Collation Algorithm
1372 =item Unicode::Normalize
1374 Unicode Normalization Forms
1378 Unicode character database
1382 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getgr*() functions
1386 By-name interface to Perl's built-in getpw*() functions
1390 Interfaces to some Win32 API Functions
1398 Module to test the XS typemaps distributed with perl
1402 Dynamically load C libraries into Perl code
1406 To find out I<all> modules installed on your system, including
1407 those without documentation or outside the standard release,
1408 just use the following command (under the default win32 shell,
1409 double quotes should be used instead of single quotes).
1411 % perl -MFile::Find=find -MFile::Spec::Functions -Tlwe \
1412 'find { wanted => sub { print canonpath $_ if /\.pm\z/ },
1413 no_chdir => 1 }, @INC'
1415 (The -T is here to prevent '.' from being listed in @INC.)
1416 They should all have their own documentation installed and accessible
1417 via your system man(1) command. If you do not have a B<find>
1418 program, you can use the Perl B<find2perl> program instead, which
1419 generates Perl code as output you can run through perl. If you
1420 have a B<man> program but it doesn't find your modules, you'll have
1421 to fix your manpath. See L<perl> for details. If you have no
1422 system B<man> command, you might try the B<perldoc> program.
1424 Note also that the command C<perldoc perllocal> gives you a (possibly
1425 incomplete) list of the modules that have been further installed on
1426 your system. (The perllocal.pod file is updated by the standard MakeMaker
1429 =head2 Extension Modules
1431 Extension modules are written in C (or a mix of Perl and C). They
1432 are usually dynamically loaded into Perl if and when you need them,
1433 but may also be linked in statically. Supported extension modules
1434 include Socket, Fcntl, and POSIX.
1436 Many popular C extension modules do not come bundled (at least, not
1437 completely) due to their sizes, volatility, or simply lack of time
1438 for adequate testing and configuration across the multitude of
1439 platforms on which Perl was beta-tested. You are encouraged to
1440 look for them on CPAN (described below), or using web search engines
1441 like Alta Vista or Google.
1445 CPAN stands for Comprehensive Perl Archive Network; it's a globally
1446 replicated trove of Perl materials, including documentation, style
1447 guides, tricks and traps, alternate ports to non-Unix systems and
1448 occasional binary distributions for these. Search engines for
1449 CPAN can be found at http://www.cpan.org/
1451 Most importantly, CPAN includes around a thousand unbundled modules,
1452 some of which require a C compiler to build. Major categories of
1459 Language Extensions and Documentation Tools
1467 Operating System Interfaces
1471 Networking, Device Control (modems) and InterProcess Communication
1475 Data Types and Data Type Utilities
1487 Interfaces to / Emulations of Other Programming Languages
1491 File Names, File Systems and File Locking (see also File Handles)
1495 String Processing, Language Text Processing, Parsing, and Searching
1499 Option, Argument, Parameter, and Configuration File Processing
1503 Internationalization and Locale
1507 Authentication, Security, and Encryption
1511 World Wide Web, HTML, HTTP, CGI, MIME
1515 Server and Daemon Utilities
1519 Archiving and Compression
1523 Images, Pixmap and Bitmap Manipulation, Drawing, and Graphing
1527 Mail and Usenet News
1531 Control Flow Utilities (callbacks and exceptions etc)
1535 File Handle and Input/Output Stream Utilities
1539 Miscellaneous Modules
1543 The list of the registered CPAN sites as of this writing follows.
1544 Please note that the sorting order is alphabetical on fields:
1550 |-->[state/province]
1556 and thus the North American servers happen to be listed between the
1557 European and the South American sites.
1559 You should try to choose one close to you.
1567 ftp://ftp.is.co.za/programming/perl/CPAN/
1568 ftp://ftp.mweb.co.za/pub/mirrors/cpan/
1569 ftp://ftp.saix.net/pub/CPAN/
1570 ftp://ftp.sun.ac.za/CPAN/CPAN/
1580 ftp://freesoft.cei.gov.cn/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1581 http://www2.linuxforum.net/mirror/CPAN/
1582 http://cpan.shellhung.org/
1583 ftp://ftp.shellhung.org/pub/CPAN
1587 http://cpan.in.freeos.com
1588 ftp://cpan.in.freeos.com/pub/CPAN/
1592 http://cpan.itb.web.id/
1593 ftp://mirrors.piksi.itb.ac.id/CPAN/
1594 http://cpan.cbn.net.id/
1595 ftp://ftp.cbn.net.id/mirror/CPAN
1596 http://CPAN.mweb.co.id/
1597 ftp://ftp.mweb.co.id/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1601 http://www.iglu.org.il:/pub/CPAN/
1602 ftp://ftp.iglu.org.il/pub/CPAN/
1603 http://cpan.lerner.co.il/
1604 http://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il/pub/software/perl/CPAN/
1605 ftp://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il/pub/software/perl/CPAN/
1609 ftp://ftp.u-aizu.ac.jp/pub/CPAN
1610 ftp://ftp.kddlabs.co.jp/CPAN/
1611 http://mirror.nucba.ac.jp/mirror/Perl/
1612 ftp://mirror.nucba.ac.jp/mirror/Perl/
1613 ftp://ftp.meisei-u.ac.jp/pub/CPAN/
1614 ftp://ftp.ayamura.org/pub/CPAN/
1615 ftp://ftp.jaist.ac.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1616 ftp://ftp.dti.ad.jp/pub/lang/CPAN/
1617 ftp://ftp.ring.gr.jp/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1621 http://mirror.Mazic.org/pub/CPAN
1622 ftp://mirror.Mazic.org/pub/CPAN
1626 http://www.adzu.edu.ph/CPAN
1628 =item Russian Federation
1630 http://cpan.tomsk.ru
1631 ftp://cpan.tomsk.ru/pub/CPAN
1635 ftp://ftp.isu.net.sa/pub/CPAN/
1639 http://cpan.hjc.edu.sg
1640 http://mirror.averse.net/pub/CPAN
1641 ftp://mirror.averse.net/pub/CPAN
1645 http://CPAN.bora.net/
1646 ftp://ftp.bora.net/pub/CPAN/
1647 http://ftp.kornet.net/pub/CPAN/
1648 ftp://ftp.kornet.net/pub/CPAN/
1649 ftp://ftp.nuri.net/pub/CPAN/
1650 http://ftp.xgate.co.kr/cpan/
1651 ftp://ftp.xgate.co.kr/pub/mirror/CPAN
1655 ftp://ftp.nctu.edu.tw/UNIX/perl/CPAN
1656 ftp://ftp.ee.ncku.edu.tw/pub/perl/CPAN/
1657 ftp://ftp1.sinica.edu.tw/pub1/perl/CPAN/
1658 http://ftp.tku.edu.tw/pub/CPAN/
1659 ftp://ftp.tku.edu.tw/pub/CPAN/
1663 ftp://ftp.loxinfo.co.th/pub/cpan/
1664 ftp://ftp.cs.riubon.ac.th/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
1668 =head2 Central America
1674 ftp://ftp.linux.co.cr/mirrors/CPAN/
1675 http://ftp.ucr.ac.cr/Unix/CPAN/
1676 ftp://ftp.ucr.ac.cr/pub/Unix/CPAN/
1686 ftp://ftp.tuwien.ac.at/pub/CPAN/
1690 http://ftp.easynet.be/pub/CPAN/
1691 ftp://ftp.easynet.be/pub/CPAN/
1692 http://cpan.skynet.be
1693 ftp://ftp.skynet.be/pub/CPAN
1694 ftp://ftp.kulnet.kuleuven.ac.be/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1698 http://cpan.lirex.net/
1699 ftp://ftp.lirex.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN
1703 http://ftp.linux.hr/pub/CPAN/
1704 ftp://ftp.linux.hr/pub/CPAN/
1706 =item Czech Republic
1708 http://ftp.fi.muni.cz/pub/CPAN/
1709 ftp://ftp.fi.muni.cz/pub/CPAN/
1710 ftp://sunsite.mff.cuni.cz/MIRRORS/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1714 http://mirrors.sunsite.dk/cpan/
1715 ftp://sunsite.dk/mirrors/cpan/
1716 http://cpan.cybercity.dk
1717 http://www.cpan.dk/CPAN/
1718 ftp://www.cpan.dk/ftp.cpan.org/CPAN/
1722 ftp://ftp.ut.ee/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1726 ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1727 http://cpan.kpnqwest.fi/
1731 http://ftp.u-paris10.fr/perl/CPAN
1732 ftp://ftp.u-paris10.fr/perl/CPAN
1733 http://cpan.mirrors.easynet.fr/
1734 ftp://cpan.mirrors.easynet.fr/pub/ftp.cpan.org/
1735 ftp://ftp.club-internet.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
1737 ftp://ftp.lip6.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
1738 ftp://ftp.oleane.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
1739 ftp://ftp.pasteur.fr/pub/computing/CPAN/
1740 http://mir2.ovh.net/ftp.cpan.org
1741 ftp://mir1.ovh.net/ftp.cpan.org
1742 http://ftp.u-strasbg.fr/CPAN
1743 ftp://ftp.u-strasbg.fr/CPAN
1744 http://cpan.cict.fr/
1745 ftp://cpan.cict.fr/pub/CPAN/
1746 ftp://ftp.uvsq.fr/pub/perl/CPAN/
1750 ftp://ftp.rz.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pub/CPAN/
1751 ftp://ftp.freenet.de/pub/ftp.cpan.org/pub/CPAN/
1752 ftp://ftp.uni-erlangen.de/pub/source/CPAN/
1753 ftp://ftp-stud.fht-esslingen.de/pub/Mirrors/CPAN
1754 http://pandemonium.tiscali.de/pub/CPAN/
1755 ftp://pandemonium.tiscali.de/pub/CPAN/
1756 http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1757 ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1758 ftp://ftp.uni-hamburg.de/pub/soft/lang/perl/CPAN/
1759 ftp://ftp.leo.org/pub/CPAN/
1760 http://cpan.noris.de/
1761 ftp://cpan.noris.de/pub/CPAN/
1762 ftp://ftp.mpi-sb.mpg.de/pub/perl/CPAN/
1763 ftp://ftp.gmd.de/mirrors/CPAN/
1767 ftp://ftp.acn.gr/pub/lang/perl/CPAN
1768 ftp://ftp.forthnet.gr/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
1769 ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/lang/perl/
1773 http://cpan.artifact.hu/
1774 ftp://cpan.artifact.hu/CPAN/
1775 http://ftp.kfki.hu/packages/perl/CPAN/
1776 ftp://ftp.kfki.hu/pub/packages/perl/CPAN/
1780 http://ftp.rhnet.is/pub/CPAN/
1781 ftp://ftp.rhnet.is/pub/CPAN/
1785 http://cpan.indigo.ie/
1786 ftp://cpan.indigo.ie/pub/CPAN/
1787 http://sunsite.compapp.dcu.ie/pub/perl/
1788 ftp://sunsite.compapp.dcu.ie/pub/perl/
1792 http://cpan.nettuno.it/
1793 http://gusp.dyndns.org/CPAN/
1794 ftp://gusp.dyndns.org/pub/CPAN
1795 http://softcity.iol.it/cpan
1796 ftp://softcity.iol.it/pub/cpan
1797 ftp://ftp.unina.it/pub/Other/CPAN/CPAN/
1798 ftp://ftp.unipi.it/pub/mirror/perl/CPAN/
1799 ftp://cis.uniRoma2.it/CPAN/
1800 ftp://ftp.edisontel.it/pub/CPAN_Mirror/
1801 ftp://ftp.flashnet.it/pub/CPAN/
1805 http://kvin.lv/pub/CPAN/
1809 ftp://ftp.unix.lt/pub/CPAN/
1813 ftp://download.xs4all.nl/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1814 ftp://ftp.nl.uu.net/pub/CPAN/
1815 ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1816 http://cpan.cybercomm.nl/
1817 ftp://mirror.cybercomm.nl/pub/CPAN
1818 ftp://ftp.cpan.nl/pub/CPAN/
1819 http://ftp.easynet.nl/mirror/CPAN
1820 ftp://ftp.easynet.nl/mirror/CPAN
1821 http://archive.cs.uu.nl/mirror/CPAN/
1822 ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/mirror/CPAN/
1826 ftp://ftp.uninett.no/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
1827 ftp://ftp.uit.no/pub/languages/perl/cpan/
1831 ftp://ftp.pk.edu.pl/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1832 ftp://ftp.mega.net.pl/pub/mirrors/ftp.perl.com/
1833 ftp://ftp.man.torun.pl/pub/doc/CPAN/
1834 ftp://sunsite.icm.edu.pl/pub/CPAN/
1838 ftp://ftp.ua.pt/pub/CPAN/
1839 ftp://perl.di.uminho.pt/pub/CPAN/
1840 http://cpan.dei.uc.pt/
1841 ftp://ftp.dei.uc.pt/pub/CPAN
1842 ftp://ftp.ist.utl.pt/pub/CPAN/
1844 ftp://cpan.ip.pt/pub/cpan/
1845 ftp://ftp.netc.pt/pub/CPAN/
1846 ftp://ftp.up.pt/pub/CPAN
1850 ftp://ftp.kappa.ro/pub/mirrors/ftp.perl.org/pub/CPAN/
1851 ftp://ftp.dntis.ro/pub/cpan/
1852 ftp://ftp.dnttm.ro/pub/CPAN/
1853 ftp://ftp.lasting.ro/pub/CPAN
1854 ftp://ftp.timisoara.roedu.net/mirrors/CPAN/
1858 ftp://ftp.chg.ru/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1859 http://cpan.rinet.ru/
1860 ftp://cpan.rinet.ru/pub/mirror/CPAN/
1861 ftp://ftp.aha.ru/pub/CPAN/
1862 http://cpan.sai.msu.ru/
1863 ftp://ftp.sai.msu.su/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1867 http://ftp.cvt.stuba.sk/pub/CPAN/
1868 ftp://ftp.cvt.stuba.sk/pub/CPAN/
1872 ftp://ftp.arnes.si/software/perl/CPAN/
1876 http://cpan.imasd.elmundo.es/
1877 ftp://ftp.rediris.es/mirror/CPAN/
1878 ftp://ftp.etse.urv.es/pub/perl/
1882 http://ftp.du.se/CPAN/
1883 ftp://ftp.du.se/pub/CPAN/
1884 ftp://mirror.dataphone.se/pub/CPAN
1885 ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/lang/perl/CPAN/
1889 ftp://ftp.danyk.ch/CPAN/
1890 ftp://sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch/mirror/CPAN/
1894 http://ftp.ulak.net.tr/perl/CPAN/
1895 ftp://ftp.ulak.net.tr/perl/CPAN
1896 ftp://sunsite.bilkent.edu.tr/pub/languages/CPAN/
1902 ftp://ftp.perl.org.ua/pub/CPAN/
1904 =item United Kingdom
1906 http://www.mirror.ac.uk/sites/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN
1907 ftp://ftp.mirror.ac.uk/sites/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1908 http://cpan.teleglobe.net/
1909 ftp://cpan.teleglobe.net/pub/CPAN
1910 http://cpan.crazygreek.co.uk
1911 ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/CPAN/
1912 http://cpan.m.flirble.org/
1913 ftp://ftp.flirble.org/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
1914 ftp://ftp.plig.org/pub/CPAN/
1915 http://mirror.uklinux.net/CPAN/
1916 ftp://mirror.uklinux.net/pub/CPAN/
1917 http://cpan.mirrors.clockerz.net/
1918 ftp://ftp.clockerz.net/pub/CPAN/
1919 ftp://usit.shef.ac.uk/pub/packages/CPAN/
1923 =head2 North America
1929 http://sunsite.ualberta.ca/pub/Mirror/CPAN/
1930 ftp://sunsite.ualberta.ca/pub/Mirror/CPAN/
1934 http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/pub/CPAN/
1935 ftp://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/pub/CPAN/
1939 ftp://cpan.chebucto.ns.ca/pub/CPAN/
1943 ftp://ftp.crc.ca/pub/CPAN/
1947 http://cpan.mirror.smartworker.org/
1951 http://cpan.azc.uam.mx
1952 ftp://cpan.azc.uam.mx/mirrors/CPAN
1953 http://cpan.unam.mx/
1954 ftp://cpan.unam.mx/pub/CPAN
1955 http://www.msg.com.mx/CPAN/
1956 ftp://ftp.msg.com.mx/pub/CPAN/
1960 =head2 United States
1966 http://mirror.hiwaay.net/CPAN/
1967 ftp://mirror.hiwaay.net/CPAN/
1971 http://cpan.develooper.com/
1972 http://www.cpan.org/
1973 ftp://cpan.valueclick.com/pub/CPAN/
1974 http://mirrors.gossamer-threads.com/CPAN
1975 ftp://cpan.nas.nasa.gov/pub/perl/CPAN/
1976 http://mirrors.kernel.org/cpan/
1977 ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/pub/CPAN
1978 http://cpan.digisle.net/
1979 ftp://cpan.digisle.net/pub/CPAN
1980 http://www.perl.com/CPAN/
1981 http://download.sourceforge.net/mirrors/CPAN/
1985 ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
1989 http://ftp.lug.udel.edu/pub/CPAN
1990 ftp://ftp.lug.udel.edu/pub/CPAN
1992 =item District of Columbia
1994 ftp://ftp.dc.aleron.net/pub/CPAN/
1998 ftp://ftp.cise.ufl.edu/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
1999 http://mirror.csit.fsu.edu/pub/CPAN/
2000 ftp://mirror.csit.fsu.edu/pub/CPAN/
2001 http://cpan.mirrors.nks.net/
2005 http://uiarchive.uiuc.edu/mirrors/ftp/cpan.cse.msu.edu/
2006 ftp://uiarchive.uiuc.edu/mirrors/ftp/cpan.cse.msu.edu/
2010 ftp://ftp.uwsg.iu.edu/pub/perl/CPAN/
2011 http://cpan.netnitco.net/
2012 ftp://cpan.netnitco.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
2013 http://archive.progeny.com/CPAN/
2014 ftp://archive.progeny.com/CPAN/
2015 ftp://cpan.in-span.net/
2016 http://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pub/CPAN
2017 ftp://csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu/pub/CPAN
2021 http://cpan.uky.edu/
2022 ftp://cpan.uky.edu/pub/CPAN/
2026 ftp://ftp.ccs.neu.edu/net/mirrors/ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/
2027 http://cpan.mirrors.netnumina.com/
2028 ftp://mirrors.netnumina.com/cpan/
2032 ftp://cpan.cse.msu.edu/
2036 ftp://ftp.cpanel.net/pub/CPAN/
2037 http://cpan.teleglobe.net/
2038 ftp://cpan.teleglobe.net/pub/CPAN
2042 ftp://ftp.exobit.org/pub/perl/CPAN
2043 http://cpan.belfry.net/
2044 http://cpan.thepirtgroup.com/
2045 ftp://cpan.thepirtgroup.com/
2046 ftp://ftp.stealth.net/pub/CPAN/
2047 http://www.rge.com/pub/languages/perl/
2048 ftp://ftp.rge.com/pub/languages/perl/
2049 ftp://mirrors.cloud9.net/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
2051 =item North Carolina
2053 ftp://ftp.duke.edu/pub/perl/
2057 ftp://ftp.loaded.net/pub/CPAN/
2061 ftp://ftp.ou.edu/mirrors/CPAN/
2065 ftp://ftp.orst.edu/pub/CPAN
2069 http://ftp.epix.net/CPAN/
2070 ftp://ftp.epix.net/pub/languages/perl/
2071 http://mirrors.phenominet.com/pub/CPAN/
2072 ftp://mirrors.phenominet.com/pub/CPAN/
2073 http://cpan.pair.com/
2074 ftp://cpan.pair.com/pub/CPAN/
2075 ftp://carroll.cac.psu.edu/pub/CPAN/
2079 ftp://ftp.sunsite.utk.edu/pub/CPAN/
2083 http://ftp.sedl.org/pub/mirrors/CPAN/
2084 ftp://mirror.telentente.com/pub/CPAN
2088 ftp://mirror.xmission.com/CPAN/
2092 http://mirrors.rcn.net/pub/lang/CPAN/
2093 ftp://mirrors.rcn.net/pub/lang/CPAN/
2094 http://perl.secsup.org/
2095 ftp://perl.secsup.org/pub/perl/
2096 http://mirrors.phihost.com/CPAN/
2097 ftp://mirrors.phihost.com/CPAN/
2098 ftp://ruff.cs.jmu.edu/pub/CPAN/
2099 http://perl.Liquidation.com/CPAN/
2103 http://cpan.llarian.net/
2104 ftp://cpan.llarian.net/pub/CPAN/
2105 http://cpan.mirrorcentral.com/
2106 ftp://ftp.mirrorcentral.com/pub/CPAN/
2107 ftp://ftp-mirror.internap.com/pub/CPAN/
2111 http://mirror.sit.wisc.edu/pub/CPAN/
2112 ftp://mirror.sit.wisc.edu/pub/CPAN/
2122 http://ftp.planetmirror.com/pub/CPAN/
2123 ftp://ftp.planetmirror.com/pub/CPAN/
2124 ftp://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/pub/perl/CPAN/
2125 ftp://cpan.topend.com.au/pub/CPAN/
2129 ftp://ftp.auckland.ac.nz/pub/perl/CPAN/
2130 http://cpan.soa.co.nz/CPAN/
2134 =head2 South America
2140 ftp://mirrors.bannerlandia.com.ar/mirrors/CPAN/
2141 http://ftp.fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar/pub/CPAN/
2142 ftp://ftp.fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar/pub/CPAN/
2146 ftp://cpan.pop-mg.com.br/pub/CPAN/
2147 ftp://ftp.matrix.com.br/pub/perl/CPAN/
2151 http://cpan.netglobalis.net/
2152 ftp://cpan.netglobalis.net/pub/CPAN/
2156 =head2 RSYNC Mirrors
2158 ftp.fcaglp.unlp.edu.ar::CPAN
2159 cpan.mirror.smartworker.org::CPAN
2160 theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca::CPAN
2161 ftp.shellhung.org::CPAN
2163 ftp.u-paris10.fr::CPAN
2165 ftp.gwdg.de::FTP/languages/perl/CPAN/
2167 CPAN.piksi.itb.ac.id::CPAN
2168 ftp.cbn.net.id::CPAN
2169 ftp.iglu.org.il::CPAN
2170 gusp.dyndns.org::cpan
2171 ftp.kddlabs.co.jp::cpan
2172 ftp.ayamura.org::pub/CPAN/
2173 mirror.averse.net::cpan
2174 cpan.teleglobe.net::CPAN
2176 archive.progeny.com::CPAN
2177 cpan.teleglobe.net::CPAN
2178 ftp.lug.udel.edu::cpan
2179 mirrors.kernel.org::mirrors/CPAN
2180 mirrors.phenominet.com::CPAN
2181 mirror.csit.fsu.edu::CPAN
2182 csociety-ftp.ecn.purdue.edu::CPAN
2184 For an up-to-date listing of CPAN sites,
2185 see http://www.cpan.org/SITES or ftp://www.cpan.org/SITES .
2187 =head1 Modules: Creation, Use, and Abuse
2189 (The following section is borrowed directly from Tim Bunce's modules
2190 file, available at your nearest CPAN site.)
2192 Perl implements a class using a package, but the presence of a
2193 package doesn't imply the presence of a class. A package is just a
2194 namespace. A class is a package that provides subroutines that can be
2195 used as methods. A method is just a subroutine that expects, as its
2196 first argument, either the name of a package (for "static" methods),
2197 or a reference to something (for "virtual" methods).
2199 A module is a file that (by convention) provides a class of the same
2200 name (sans the .pm), plus an import method in that class that can be
2201 called to fetch exported symbols. This module may implement some of
2202 its methods by loading dynamic C or C++ objects, but that should be
2203 totally transparent to the user of the module. Likewise, the module
2204 might set up an AUTOLOAD function to slurp in subroutine definitions on
2205 demand, but this is also transparent. Only the F<.pm> file is required to
2206 exist. See L<perlsub>, L<perltoot>, and L<AutoLoader> for details about
2207 the AUTOLOAD mechanism.
2209 =head2 Guidelines for Module Creation
2215 Do similar modules already exist in some form?
2217 If so, please try to reuse the existing modules either in whole or
2218 by inheriting useful features into a new class. If this is not
2219 practical try to get together with the module authors to work on
2220 extending or enhancing the functionality of the existing modules.
2221 A perfect example is the plethora of packages in perl4 for dealing
2222 with command line options.
2224 If you are writing a module to expand an already existing set of
2225 modules, please coordinate with the author of the package. It
2226 helps if you follow the same naming scheme and module interaction
2227 scheme as the original author.
2231 Try to design the new module to be easy to extend and reuse.
2233 Try to C<use warnings;> (or C<use warnings qw(...);>).
2234 Remember that you can add C<no warnings qw(...);> to individual blocks
2235 of code that need less warnings.
2237 Use blessed references. Use the two argument form of bless to bless
2238 into the class name given as the first parameter of the constructor,
2243 return bless {}, $class;
2246 or even this if you'd like it to be used as either a static
2247 or a virtual method.
2251 my $class = ref($self) || $self;
2252 return bless {}, $class;
2255 Pass arrays as references so more parameters can be added later
2256 (it's also faster). Convert functions into methods where
2257 appropriate. Split large methods into smaller more flexible ones.
2258 Inherit methods from other modules if appropriate.
2260 Avoid class name tests like: C<die "Invalid" unless ref $ref eq 'FOO'>.
2261 Generally you can delete the C<eq 'FOO'> part with no harm at all.
2262 Let the objects look after themselves! Generally, avoid hard-wired
2263 class names as far as possible.
2265 Avoid C<< $r->Class::func() >> where using C<@ISA=qw(... Class ...)> and
2266 C<< $r->func() >> would work (see L<perlbot> for more details).
2268 Use autosplit so little used or newly added functions won't be a
2269 burden to programs that don't use them. Add test functions to
2270 the module after __END__ either using AutoSplit or by saying:
2272 eval join('',<main::DATA>) || die $@ unless caller();
2274 Does your module pass the 'empty subclass' test? If you say
2275 C<@SUBCLASS::ISA = qw(YOURCLASS);> your applications should be able
2276 to use SUBCLASS in exactly the same way as YOURCLASS. For example,
2277 does your application still work if you change: C<$obj = new YOURCLASS;>
2278 into: C<$obj = new SUBCLASS;> ?
2280 Avoid keeping any state information in your packages. It makes it
2281 difficult for multiple other packages to use yours. Keep state
2282 information in objects.
2286 Try to C<use strict;> (or C<use strict qw(...);>).
2287 Remember that you can add C<no strict qw(...);> to individual blocks
2288 of code that need less strictness.
2292 Follow the guidelines in the perlstyle(1) manual.
2298 Some simple style guidelines
2300 The perlstyle manual supplied with Perl has many helpful points.
2302 Coding style is a matter of personal taste. Many people evolve their
2303 style over several years as they learn what helps them write and
2304 maintain good code. Here's one set of assorted suggestions that
2305 seem to be widely used by experienced developers:
2307 Use underscores to separate words. It is generally easier to read
2308 $var_names_like_this than $VarNamesLikeThis, especially for
2309 non-native speakers of English. It's also a simple rule that works
2310 consistently with VAR_NAMES_LIKE_THIS.
2312 Package/Module names are an exception to this rule. Perl informally
2313 reserves lowercase module names for 'pragma' modules like integer
2314 and strict. Other modules normally begin with a capital letter and
2315 use mixed case with no underscores (need to be short and portable).
2317 You may find it helpful to use letter case to indicate the scope
2318 or nature of a variable. For example:
2320 $ALL_CAPS_HERE constants only (beware clashes with Perl vars)
2321 $Some_Caps_Here package-wide global/static
2322 $no_caps_here function scope my() or local() variables
2324 Function and method names seem to work best as all lowercase.
2325 e.g., C<< $obj->as_string() >>.
2327 You can use a leading underscore to indicate that a variable or
2328 function should not be used outside the package that defined it.
2332 Select what to export.
2334 Do NOT export method names!
2336 Do NOT export anything else by default without a good reason!
2338 Exports pollute the namespace of the module user. If you must
2339 export try to use @EXPORT_OK in preference to @EXPORT and avoid
2340 short or common names to reduce the risk of name clashes.
2342 Generally anything not exported is still accessible from outside the
2343 module using the ModuleName::item_name (or C<< $blessed_ref->method >>)
2344 syntax. By convention you can use a leading underscore on names to
2345 indicate informally that they are 'internal' and not for public use.
2347 (It is actually possible to get private functions by saying:
2348 C<my $subref = sub { ... }; &$subref;>. But there's no way to call that
2349 directly as a method, because a method must have a name in the symbol
2352 As a general rule, if the module is trying to be object oriented
2353 then export nothing. If it's just a collection of functions then
2354 @EXPORT_OK anything but use @EXPORT with caution.
2358 Select a name for the module.
2360 This name should be as descriptive, accurate, and complete as
2361 possible. Avoid any risk of ambiguity. Always try to use two or
2362 more whole words. Generally the name should reflect what is special
2363 about what the module does rather than how it does it. Please use
2364 nested module names to group informally or categorize a module.
2365 There should be a very good reason for a module not to have a nested name.
2366 Module names should begin with a capital letter.
2368 Having 57 modules all called Sort will not make life easy for anyone
2369 (though having 23 called Sort::Quick is only marginally better :-).
2370 Imagine someone trying to install your module alongside many others.
2371 If in any doubt ask for suggestions in comp.lang.perl.misc.
2373 If you are developing a suite of related modules/classes it's good
2374 practice to use nested classes with a common prefix as this will
2375 avoid namespace clashes. For example: Xyz::Control, Xyz::View,
2376 Xyz::Model etc. Use the modules in this list as a naming guide.
2378 If adding a new module to a set, follow the original author's
2379 standards for naming modules and the interface to methods in
2382 If developing modules for private internal or project specific use,
2383 that will never be released to the public, then you should ensure
2384 that their names will not clash with any future public module. You
2385 can do this either by using the reserved Local::* category or by
2386 using a category name that includes an underscore like Foo_Corp::*.
2388 To be portable each component of a module name should be limited to
2389 11 characters. If it might be used on MS-DOS then try to ensure each is
2390 unique in the first 8 characters. Nested modules make this easier.
2394 Have you got it right?
2396 How do you know that you've made the right decisions? Have you
2397 picked an interface design that will cause problems later? Have
2398 you picked the most appropriate name? Do you have any questions?
2400 The best way to know for sure, and pick up many helpful suggestions,
2401 is to ask someone who knows. Comp.lang.perl.misc is read by just about
2402 all the people who develop modules and it's the best place to ask.
2404 All you need to do is post a short summary of the module, its
2405 purpose and interfaces. A few lines on each of the main methods is
2406 probably enough. (If you post the whole module it might be ignored
2407 by busy people - generally the very people you want to read it!)
2409 Don't worry about posting if you can't say when the module will be
2410 ready - just say so in the message. It might be worth inviting
2411 others to help you, they may be able to complete it for you!
2415 README and other Additional Files.
2417 It's well known that software developers usually fully document the
2418 software they write. If, however, the world is in urgent need of
2419 your software and there is not enough time to write the full
2420 documentation please at least provide a README file containing:
2426 A description of the module/package/extension etc.
2430 A copyright notice - see below.
2434 Prerequisites - what else you may need to have.
2438 How to build it - possible changes to Makefile.PL etc.
2446 Recent changes in this release, especially incompatibilities
2450 Changes / enhancements you plan to make in the future.
2454 If the README file seems to be getting too large you may wish to
2455 split out some of the sections into separate files: INSTALL,
2462 Adding a Copyright Notice.
2464 How you choose to license your work is a personal decision.
2465 The general mechanism is to assert your Copyright and then make
2466 a declaration of how others may copy/use/modify your work.
2468 Perl, for example, is supplied with two types of licence: The GNU GPL
2469 and The Artistic Licence (see the files README, Copying, and Artistic,
2470 or L<perlgpl> and L<perlartistic>). Larry has good reasons for NOT
2471 just using the GNU GPL.
2473 My personal recommendation, out of respect for Larry, Perl, and the
2474 Perl community at large is to state something simply like:
2476 Copyright (c) 1995 Your Name. All rights reserved.
2477 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
2478 modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.
2480 This statement should at least appear in the README file. You may
2481 also wish to include it in a Copying file and your source files.
2482 Remember to include the other words in addition to the Copyright.
2486 Give the module a version/issue/release number.
2488 To be fully compatible with the Exporter and MakeMaker modules you
2489 should store your module's version number in a non-my package
2490 variable called $VERSION. This should be a floating point
2491 number with at least two digits after the decimal (i.e., hundredths,
2492 e.g, C<$VERSION = "0.01">). Don't use a "1.3.2" style version.
2493 See L<Exporter> for details.
2495 It may be handy to add a function or method to retrieve the number.
2496 Use the number in announcements and archive file names when
2497 releasing the module (ModuleName-1.02.tar.Z).
2498 See perldoc ExtUtils::MakeMaker.pm for details.
2502 How to release and distribute a module.
2504 It's good idea to post an announcement of the availability of your
2505 module (or the module itself if small) to the comp.lang.perl.announce
2506 Usenet newsgroup. This will at least ensure very wide once-off
2509 If possible, register the module with CPAN. You should
2510 include details of its location in your announcement.
2512 Some notes about ftp archives: Please use a long descriptive file
2513 name that includes the version number. Most incoming directories
2514 will not be readable/listable, i.e., you won't be able to see your
2515 file after uploading it. Remember to send your email notification
2516 message as soon as possible after uploading else your file may get
2517 deleted automatically. Allow time for the file to be processed
2518 and/or check the file has been processed before announcing its
2521 FTP Archives for Perl Modules:
2523 Follow the instructions and links on:
2525 http://www.cpan.org/modules/00modlist.long.html
2526 http://www.cpan.org/modules/04pause.html
2528 or upload to one of these sites:
2530 https://pause.kbx.de/pause/
2531 http://pause.perl.org/pause/
2533 and notify <modules@perl.org>.
2535 By using the WWW interface you can ask the Upload Server to mirror
2536 your modules from your ftp or WWW site into your own directory on
2539 Please remember to send me an updated entry for the Module list!
2543 Take care when changing a released module.
2545 Always strive to remain compatible with previous released versions.
2546 Otherwise try to add a mechanism to revert to the
2547 old behavior if people rely on it. Document incompatible changes.
2553 =head2 Guidelines for Converting Perl 4 Library Scripts into Modules
2559 There is no requirement to convert anything.
2561 If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Perl 4 library scripts should
2562 continue to work with no problems. You may need to make some minor
2563 changes (like escaping non-array @'s in double quoted strings) but
2564 there is no need to convert a .pl file into a Module for just that.
2568 Consider the implications.
2570 All Perl applications that make use of the script will need to
2571 be changed (slightly) if the script is converted into a module. Is
2572 it worth it unless you plan to make other changes at the same time?
2576 Make the most of the opportunity.
2578 If you are going to convert the script to a module you can use the
2579 opportunity to redesign the interface. The guidelines for module
2580 creation above include many of the issues you should consider.
2584 The pl2pm utility will get you started.
2586 This utility will read *.pl files (given as parameters) and write
2587 corresponding *.pm files. The pl2pm utilities does the following:
2593 Adds the standard Module prologue lines
2597 Converts package specifiers from ' to ::
2601 Converts die(...) to croak(...)
2605 Several other minor changes
2609 Being a mechanical process pl2pm is not bullet proof. The converted
2610 code will need careful checking, especially any package statements.
2611 Don't delete the original .pl file till the new .pm one works!
2615 =head2 Guidelines for Reusing Application Code
2621 Complete applications rarely belong in the Perl Module Library.
2625 Many applications contain some Perl code that could be reused.
2627 Help save the world! Share your code in a form that makes it easy
2632 Break-out the reusable code into one or more separate module files.
2636 Take the opportunity to reconsider and redesign the interfaces.
2640 In some cases the 'application' can then be reduced to a small
2642 fragment of code built on top of the reusable modules. In these cases
2643 the application could invoked as:
2645 % perl -e 'use Module::Name; method(@ARGV)' ...
2647 % perl -mModule::Name ... (in perl5.002 or higher)
2653 Perl does not enforce private and public parts of its modules as you may
2654 have been used to in other languages like C++, Ada, or Modula-17. Perl
2655 doesn't have an infatuation with enforced privacy. It would prefer
2656 that you stayed out of its living room because you weren't invited, not
2657 because it has a shotgun.
2659 The module and its user have a contract, part of which is common law,
2660 and part of which is "written". Part of the common law contract is
2661 that a module doesn't pollute any namespace it wasn't asked to. The
2662 written contract for the module (A.K.A. documentation) may make other
2663 provisions. But then you know when you C<use RedefineTheWorld> that
2664 you're redefining the world and willing to take the consequences.