=back
-=head3 Why rsync the source tree
+=head2 Why rsync the source tree
=over 4
-=item It's easier
+=item It's easier to rsync the source tree
Since you don't have to apply the patches yourself, you are sure all
files in the source tree are in the right state.
=back
-=head3 Why rsync the patches
+=head2 Why rsync the patches
=over 4
-=item It's easier
+=item It's easier to rsync the patches
If you have more than one machine that you want to keep in track with
bleadperl, it's easier to rsync the patches only once and then apply
=head2 Submitting patches
-Always submit patches to I<perl5-porters@perl.org>. This lets other
-porters review your patch, which catches a surprising number of errors
-in patches. Either use the diff program (available in source code
-form from I<ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/>), or use Johan Vromans'
-I<makepatch> (available from I<CPAN/authors/id/JV/>). Unified diffs
-are preferred, but context diffs are accepted. Do not send RCS-style
-diffs or diffs without context lines. More information is given in
-the I<Porting/patching.pod> file in the Perl source distribution.
-Please patch against the latest B<development> version (e.g., if
-you're fixing a bug in the 5.005 track, patch against the latest
-5.005_5x version). Only patches that survive the heat of the
-development branch get applied to maintenance versions.
-
-Your patch should update the documentation and test suite.
+Always submit patches to I<perl5-porters@perl.org>. If you're
+patching a core module and there's an author listed, send the author a
+copy (see L<Patching a core module>). This lets other porters review
+your patch, which catches a surprising number of errors in patches.
+Either use the diff program (available in source code form from
+I<ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/>), or use Johan Vromans' I<makepatch>
+(available from I<CPAN/authors/id/JV/>). Unified diffs are preferred,
+but context diffs are accepted. Do not send RCS-style diffs or diffs
+without context lines. More information is given in the
+I<Porting/patching.pod> file in the Perl source distribution. Please
+patch against the latest B<development> version (e.g., if you're
+fixing a bug in the 5.005 track, patch against the latest 5.005_5x
+version). Only patches that survive the heat of the development
+branch get applied to maintenance versions.
+
+Your patch should update the documentation and test suite. See
+L<Writing a test>.
To report a bug in Perl, use the program I<perlbug> which comes with
Perl (if you can't get Perl to work, send mail to the address
subdirectories: F<lib/> is for the pure-Perl modules, and F<ext/>
contains the core XS modules.
+=item Tests
+
+There are tests for nearly all the modules, built-ins and major bits
+of functionality. Test files all have a .t suffix. Module tests live
+in the F<lib/> and F<ext/> directories next to the module being
+tested. Others live in F<t/>. See L<Writing a test>
+
=item Documentation
Documentation maintenance includes looking after everything in the
}
}
-< finish this later >
+# finish this later #
=head2 Patching
And finally, we submit it, with our rationale, to perl5-porters. Job
done!
+=head2 Patching a core module
+
+This works just like patching anything else, with an extra
+consideration. Many core modules also live on CPAN. If this is so,
+patch the CPAN version instead of the core and send the patch off to
+the module maintainer (with a copy to p5p). This will help the module
+maintainer keep the CPAN version in sync with the core version without
+constantly scanning p5p.
+
+
+=head2 Writing a test
+
+Every module and built-in function has an associated test file (or
+should...). If you add or change functionality, you have to write a
+test. If you fix a bug, you have to write a test so that bug never
+comes back. If you alter the docs, it would be nice to test what the
+new documentation says.
+
+In short, if you submit a patch you probably also have to patch the
+tests.
+
+For modules, the test file is right next to the module itself.
+F<lib/strict.t> tests F<lib/strict.pm>. This is a recent innovation,
+so there are some snags (and it would be wonderful for you to brush
+them out), but it basically works that way. Everything else lives in
+F<t/>.
+
+=over 3
+
+=item F<t/base/>
+
+Testing of the absolute basic functionality of Perl. Things like
+C<if>, basic file reads and writes, simple regexes, etc. These are
+run first in the test suite and if any of them fail, something is
+I<really> broken.
+
+=item F<t/cmd/>
+
+These test the basic control structures, C<if/else>, C<while>,
+subroutines, etc...
+
+=item F<t/comp/>
+
+Tests basic issues of how Perl parses and compiles itself.
+
+=item F<t/io/>
+
+Tests for built-in IO functions, including command line arguments.
+
+=item F<t/lib/>
+
+The old home for the module tests, you shouldn't put anything new in
+here. There are still some bits and pieces hanging around in here
+that need to be moved. Perhaps you could move them? Thanks!
+
+=item F<t/op/>
+
+Tests for perl's built in functions that don't fit into any of the
+other directories.
+
+=item F<t/pod/>
+
+Tests for POD directives. There are still some tests for the Pod
+modules hanging around in here that need to be moved out into F<lib/>.
+
+=item F<t/run/>
+
+Testing features of how perl actually runs, including exit codes and
+handling of PERL* environment variables.
+
+=back
+
+The core uses the same testing style as the rest of Perl, a simple
+"ok/not ok" run through Test::Harness, but there are a few special
+considerations.
+
+For most libraries and extensions, you'll want to use the Test::More
+library rather than rolling your own test functions. If a module test
+doesn't use Test::More, consider rewriting it so it does. For the
+rest it's best to use a simple C<print "ok $test_num\n"> style to avoid
+broken core functionality from causing the whole test to collapse.
+
+When you say "make test" Perl uses the F<t/TEST> program to run the
+test suite. All tests are run from the F<t/> directory, B<not> the
+directory which contains the test. This causes some problems with the
+tests in F<lib/>, so here's some opportunity for some patching.
+
+You must be triply conscious of cross-platform concerns. This usually
+boils down to using File::Spec and avoiding things like C<fork()> and
+C<system()> unless absolutely necessary.
+
+
=head1 EXTERNAL TOOLS FOR DEBUGGING PERL
Sometimes it helps to use external tools while debugging and
Depending on your platform there are various of profiling Perl.
There are two commonly used techniques of profiling executables:
-E<statistical time-sampling> and E<basic-block counting>.
+I<statistical time-sampling> and I<basic-block counting>.
The first method takes periodically samples of the CPU program
counter, and since the program counter can be correlated with the code
good idea for profiling), the second problem is usually kept in guard
by the profiling tools themselves.
-The second method divides up the generated code into E<basic blocks>.
+The second method divides up the generated code into I<basic blocks>.
Basic blocks are sections of code that are entered only in the
beginning and exited only at the end. For example, a conditional jump
starts a basic block. Basic block profiling usually works by
-E<instrumenting> the code by adding E<enter basic block #nnnn>
+I<instrumenting> the code by adding I<enter basic block #nnnn>
book-keeping code to the generated code. During the execution of the
code the basic block counters are then updated appropriately. The
caveat is that the added extra code can skew the results: again, the
=head2 GCC gcov Profiling
-Starting from GCC 3.0 E<basic block profiling> is officially available
+Starting from GCC 3.0 I<basic block profiling> is officially available
for the GNU CC.
You can build a profiled version of perl called F<perl.gcov> by
Pixie is a profiling tool available on IRIX and Tru64 (aka Digital
UNIX aka DEC OSF/1) platforms. Pixie does its profiling using
-E<basic-block counting>.
+I<basic-block counting>.
You can build a profiled version of perl called F<perl.pixie> by
invoking the make target "perl.pixie" (what is required is that Perl
projects / p5sagit/p5-mst-13.2.git / blobdiff