SYNOPSIS
# In a Build.PL :
use Module::Build;
my $build = Module::Build->new
( module_name => 'Foo::Bar',
license => 'perl',
create_makefile_pl => 'traditional' );
...
DESCRIPTION
Because "ExtUtils::MakeMaker" has been the standard way to distribute modules for a long time, many tools (CPAN.pm, or your system administrator) may expect to find a working Makefile.PL in every distribution they download from CPAN. If you want to throw them a bone, you can use "Module::Build::Compat" to automatically generate a Makefile.PL for you, in one of several different styles."Module::Build::Compat" also provides some code that helps out the Makefile.PL at runtime.
METHODS
- create_makefile_pl($style, $build)
-
Creates a Makefile.PL in the current directory in one of several
styles, based on the supplied "Module::Build" object $build. This is
typically controlled by passing the desired style as the
"create_makefile_pl" parameter to "Module::Build"'s "new()" method;
the Makefile.PL will then be automatically created during the
"distdir" action.
The currently supported styles are:
-
- traditional
-
A Makefile.PL will be created in the ``traditional'' style, i.e. it will
use "ExtUtils::MakeMaker" and won't rely on "Module::Build" at all.
In order to create the Makefile.PL, we'll include the "requires" and
"build_requires" dependencies as the "PREREQ_PM" parameter.
You don't want to use this style if during the "perl Build.PL" stage you ask the user questions, or do some auto-sensing about the user's environment, or if you subclass "Module::Build" to do some customization, because the vanilla Makefile.PL won't do any of that.
- small
- A small Makefile.PL will be created that passes all functionality through to the Build.PL script in the same directory. The user must already have "Module::Build" installed in order to use this, or else they'll get a module-not-found error.
- passthrough (DEPRECATED)
-
This is just like the "small" option above, but if "Module::Build" is
not already installed on the user's system, the script will offer to
use "CPAN.pm" to download it and install it before continuing with
the build.
This option has been deprecated and may be removed in a future version of Module::Build. Modern CPAN.pm and CPANPLUS will recognize the "configure_requires" metadata property and install Module::Build before running Build.PL if Module::Build is listed and Module::Build now adds itself to configure_requires by default.
Perl 5.10.1 includes "configure_requires" support. In the future, when "configure_requires" support is deemed sufficiently widespread, the "passthrough" style will be removed.
-
- run_build_pl(args => \@ARGV)
-
This method runs the Build.PL script, passing it any arguments the
user may have supplied to the "perl Makefile.PL" command. Because
"ExtUtils::MakeMaker" and "Module::Build" accept different arguments, this
method also performs some translation between the two.
"run_build_pl()" accepts the following named parameters:
-
- args
- The "args" parameter specifies the parameters that would usually appear on the command line of the "perl Makefile.PL" command - typically you'll just pass a reference to @ARGV.
- script
- This is the filename of the script to run - it defaults to "Build.PL".
-
- write_makefile()
-
This method writes a 'dummy' Makefile that will pass all commands
through to the corresponding "Module::Build" actions.
"write_makefile()" accepts the following named parameters:
-
- makefile
- The name of the file to write - defaults to the string "Makefile".
-
SCENARIOS
So, some common scenarios are:- 1.
-
Just include a Build.PL script (without a Makefile.PL
script), and give installation directions in a README or INSTALL
document explaining how to install the module. In particular, explain
that the user must install "Module::Build" before installing your
module.
Note that if you do this, you may make things easier for yourself, but harder for people with older versions of CPAN or CPANPLUS on their system, because those tools generally only understand the Makefile.PL/"ExtUtils::MakeMaker" way of doing things.
- 2.
-
Include a Build.PL script and a ``traditional'' Makefile.PL,
created either manually or with "create_makefile_pl()". Users won't
ever have to install "Module::Build" if they use the Makefile.PL, but
they won't get to take advantage of "Module::Build"'s extra features
either.
For good measure, of course, test both the Makefile.PL and the Build.PL before shipping.
- 3.
- Include a Build.PL script and a ``pass-through'' Makefile.PL built using "Module::Build::Compat". This will mean that people can continue to use the ``old'' installation commands, and they may never notice that it's actually doing something else behind the scenes. It will also mean that your installation process is compatible with older versions of tools like CPAN and CPANPLUS.
AUTHOR
Ken Williams <[email protected]>COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2001-2006 Ken Williams. All rights reserved.This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.