=head1 SYNOPSIS
+ package Point;
+ use Moose;
+ use MooseX::Storage;
+
+ with Storage('format' => 'JSON', 'io' => 'File');
+
+ has 'x' => (is => 'rw', isa => 'Int');
+ has 'y' => (is => 'rw', isa => 'Int');
+
+ 1;
+
+ my $p = Point->new(x => 10, y => 10);
+
+ ## methods to pack/unpack an
+ ## object in perl data structures
+
+ # pack the class into a hash
+ $p->pack(); # { __CLASS__ => 'Point', x => 10, y => 10 }
+
+ # unpack the hash into a class
+ my $p2 = Point->unpack({ __CLASS__ => 'Point', x => 10, y => 10 });
+
+ ## methods to freeze/thaw into
+ ## a specified serialization format
+ ## (in this case JSON)
+
+ # pack the class into a JSON string
+ $p->freeze(); # { "__CLASS__" : "Point", "x" : 10, "y" : 10 }
+
+ # unpack the JSON string into a class
+ my $p2 = Point->thaw('{ "__CLASS__" : "Point", "x" : 10, "y" : 10 }');
+
+ ## methods to load/store a class
+ ## on the file system
+
+ $p->store('my_point.json');
+
+ my $p2 = Point->load('my_point.json');
+
=head1 DESCRIPTION
+MooseX::Storage is a serialization framework for Moose, it provides
+a very flexible and highly pluggable way to serialize Moose classes
+to a number of different formats and styles.
+
+=head2 Levels of Serialization
+
+There are 3 levels to the serialization, each of which builds upon
+the other and each of which can be customized to the specific needs
+of your class.
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<base>
+
+The first (base) level is C<pack> and C<unpack>. In this level the
+class is serialized into a Perl HASH reference, it is tagged with the
+class name and each instance attribute is stored. Very simple.
+
+This level is not optional, it is the bare minumum that
+MooseX::Storage provides and all other levels build on top of this.
+
+=item B<format>
+
+The second (format) level is C<freeze> and C<thaw>. In this level the
+output of C<pack> is sent to C<freeze> or the output of C<thaw> is sent
+to C<unpack>. This levels primary role is to convert to and from the
+specific serialization format and Perl land.
+
+This level is optional, if you don't want/need it, you don't have to
+have it. You can just use C<pack>/C<unpack> instead.
+
+=item B<io>
+
+The third (io) level is C<load> and C<store>. In this level we are reading
+and writing data to file/network/database/etc.
+
+This level is also optional, it does however require the C<format> level
+to be present (at least the current state does).
+
+=back
+
+=head2 How we serialize
+
+There are always limits to any serialization framework, there are just
+some things which are really difficult to serialize properly and some
+things which cannot be serialized at all.
+
+=head2 What can be serialized?
+
+Currently only numbers, string, ARRAY refs, HASH refs and other
+MooseX::Storage enabled objects are supported.
+
+With Array and Hash references the first level down is inspected and
+any objects found are serialized/deserialized for you. We do not do
+this recusively by default, however this feature may become an
+option eventually.
+
+The specific serialize/deserialize routine is determined by the
+Moose type constraint a specific attribute has. In most cases subtypes
+of the supported types are handled correctly, and there is a facility
+for adding handlers for custom types as well. This will get documented
+eventually, but it is currently still in development.
+
+=head2 What can not be serialized?
+
+We do not support CODE references yet, but this support might be added
+in using B::Deparse or some other deep magic.
+
+Scalar refs are not supported, mostly because there is no way to know
+if the value being referenced will be there when the object is inflated.
+I highly doubt will be ever support this in a general sense, but it
+would be possible to add this yourself for a small specific case.
+
+Circular references are specifically disallowed, however if you break
+the cycles yourself then re-assemble them later you can get around this.
+The reason we disallow circular refs is because they are not always supported
+in all formats we use, and they tend to be very tricky to do for all
+possible cases. It is almost always something you want to have tight control
+over anyway.
+
+=head1 CAVEAT
+
+This is B<not> a persistence framework, changes to your object after
+you load or store it will not be reflected in the stored class.
+
+=head1 EXPORTS
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<Storage (%options)>
+
+This module will export the C<Storage> method will can be used to
+load a specific set of MooseX::Storage roles to implement a specific
+combination of features. It is meant to make things easier, but it
+is by no means the only way. You can still compose your roles by
+hand if you like.
+
+=back
+
=head1 METHODS
=over 4
=back
+=head1 TODO
+
+This module needs docs and probably a couple a Cookbook of some kind
+as well. This is an early release, so that is my excuse for now :)
+
+For the time being, please read the tests and feel free to email me
+if you have any questions. This module can also be discussed on IRC
+in the #moose channel on irc.perl.org.
+
=head1 BUGS
All complex software has bugs lurking in it, and this module is no
projects / gitmo/MooseX-Storage.git / commitdiff