ExtUtils::MakeMakPerlTProgrammersExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial(3p)
ExtUtils::MakeMaker::Tutorial - Writing a module with Mak-
eMaker
use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
WriteMakefile(
NAME => 'Your::Module',
VERSION_FROM => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
);
This is a short tutorial on writing a simple module with
MakeMaker. Its really not that hard.
The Mantra
MakeMaker modules are installed using this simple mantra
perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install
There are lots more commands and options, but the above will
do it.
The Layout
The basic files in a module look something like this.
Makefile.PL
MANIFEST
lib/Your/Module.pm
That's all that's strictly necessary. There's additional
files you might want:
lib/Your/Other/Module.pm
t/some_test.t
t/some_other_test.t
Changes
README
INSTALL
MANIFEST.SKIP
bin/some_program
Makefile.PL
When you run Makefile.PL, it makes a Makefile. That's
the whole point of MakeMaker. The Makefile.PL is a sim-
ple program which loads ExtUtils::MakeMaker and runs the
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WriteMakefile() function to generate a Makefile.
Here's an example of what you need for a simple module:
use ExtUtils::MakeMaker;
WriteMakefile(
NAME => 'Your::Module',
VERSION_FROM => 'lib/Your/Module.pm'
);
NAME is the top-level namespace of your module.
VERSION_FROM is the file which contains the $VERSION
variable for the entire distribution. Typically this is
the same as your top-level module.
MANIFEST
A simple listing of all the files in your distribution.
Makefile.PL
MANIFEST
lib/Your/Module.pm
File paths in a MANIFEST always use Unix conventions
(ie. /) even if you're not on Unix.
You can write this by hand or generate it with 'make
manifest'.
See ExtUtils::Manifest for more details.
lib/
This is the directory where your .pm and .pod files you
wish to have installed go. They are layed out according
to namespace. So Foo::Bar is lib/Foo/Bar.pm.
t/ Tests for your modules go here. Each test filename ends
with a .t. So t/foo.t/ 'make test' will run these
tests. The directory is flat, you cannot, for example,
have t/foo/bar.t run by 'make test'.
Tests are run from the top level of your distribution.
So inside a test you would refer to ./lib to enter the
lib directory, for example.
Changes
A log of changes you've made to this module. The layout
is free-form. Here's an example:
1.01 Fri Apr 11 00:21:25 PDT 2003
- thing() does some stuff now
- fixed the wiggy bug in withit()
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1.00 Mon Apr 7 00:57:15 PDT 2003
- "Rain of Frogs" now supported
README
A short description of your module, what it does, why
someone would use it and its limitations. CPAN automat-
ically pulls your README file out of the archive and
makes it available to CPAN users, it is the first thing
they will read to decide if your module is right for
them.
INSTALL
Instructions on how to install your module along with
any dependencies. Suggested information to include here:
any extra modules required for use
the minimum version of Perl required
if only works on certain operating systems
MANIFEST.SKIP
A file full of regular expressions to exclude when using
'make manifest' to generate the MANIFEST. These regular
expressions are checked against each file path found in
the distribution (so you're matching against "t/foo.t"
not "foo.t").
Here's a sample:
~$ # ignore emacs and vim backup files
.bak$ # ignore manual backups
\# # ignore CVS old revision files and emacs temp files
Since # can be used for comments, # must be escaped.
MakeMaker comes with a default MANIFEST.SKIP to avoid
things like version control directories and backup
files. Specifying your own will override this default.
bin/
perlmodstyle gives stylistic help writing a module.
perlnewmod gives more information about how to write a
module.
There are modules to help you through the process of writing
a module: ExtUtils::ModuleMaker, Module::Install, PAR
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